
,//K r .VI!.nJi/i'f- st - 



J 



HERODOTUS, 






TRANSLATED FROM THE GREEK, FOR THE USE OF 
GENERAL READERS; 



WITH SHORT EXPLANATORY NOTES. 




SAM TAYLOR. 



LONDON: 
HOLDSWORTH AND BALL, 

18, ST. PAUL'S CHURCH YARD. 

MDCCCXXIX. 



M* 



45" 



I. T, HINTON, 8, WARWICK SQUARE 




PREFACE. 



The rapid and extensive diffusion of general knowledge, 
which at the present moment is taking place, brings with it 
naturally a higher estimate both of the quality and quantity 
of information that should belong to a good education, and 
necessitates also some changes in the methods of study. While 
the lower classes are becoming familiar with subjects of which, 
a few years ago, many in the middle ranks of society had 
scarcely any knowledge, these, if they would retain their 
relative position injJM^^^of intelligence, must pursue the 
several branchesw^ I u ^considerably beyond the limits 
of a scanty initiM He acquaintance with elements, 

and musj; havej i u Rs of a more elaborate kind. 

This process 1MB ' K already strikingly displayed 

itself in the dejjM M ^listory ; and of late immense 
masses of original documents have been brought from their 
concealments, given to the public, and eagerly perused, 
which formerly were scarcely known, except to a small class 
of students. 

The spirit of quicken^ 1 , curiosity will, no doubt, soon 
pervade every department of this, as well as of other stu- 
dies; and ere long, a common course of historical reading 
must include the perusal — not merely of modern compilations ; 
but of the principal historians of antiquity. That an acquaint- 
ance with the original writers is the only efficient and satis- 
factory method of becoming correctly and familiarly informed 
of the condition of mankind in remote times, will not be 

a 2 



IV PREFACE. 

questioned by any one who is competent to give an opinion 
on the subject. Compilations must always have their 
use ; and if no more is desired than a mere knowledge of 
events, conveyed in the pleasing amenities of modern style, 
and accompanied by a few necessary explanations, then the 
English reader need wish for nothing better than what he 
already possesses in this kind. 

But whoever turns from the pages of even the most exact 
modern writers, to those of the ancient historians, will feel as 
if he had actually traversed the interval of centuries. — Nothing 
reminds him of the great changes which have taken place in 
the sentiments and manners of mankind during the intervening- 
ages : the style, the opinions, the allusions, are all in har- 
mony with the period to which the narrative belongs. Even 
those defects of method, and those trivial digressions, or excres- 
cences of style, which the modern compiler carefully exscinds 
from his well-digested pages, contribute very perceptibly to 
assist the imagination in its efforts to realize the interesting 
scenes of ancient story. In truth, during a continued perusal 
of these original works, the impression spontaneously formed 
upon the mind is so strong that it requires more effort, often, 
to dissolve the illusion, than to maintain it. 

The history of Greece, during yj^^faeperiod of its splen- 
dour, has been transmitted to^fl ft^L m a f° rm as 
admirable as the subject is infl ' iPmode well be- 
comes the matter ; and to I HyJ e ' * ne Greek 
historians add the substantial^ ill |P^ty : a praise, 
by the way, which can in a veryi Be be allowed to 
those of Rome. The poems of HojPr^Hro deserves to take 
the first place among historians, as well as the first among 
poets, depict the early stage of Grecian advancement on that 
course in which they were to surpass all other nations of an- 
cient, if not of modern times. An interval, not illustrated by 
any extant contemporary writer of history, then occurs, during 
which many great changes took place in national manners, and 
in the institutions and political situation of particular states. 
The hiatus is, however, to some extent, filled up by the allu- 
sions and incidental notices of the writers about to be named, 
who, while shedding a flood of light upon their own times, 
illumine, more or less clearly, the preceding ages, and enable 



PREPACK. V 

the inquirer to trace back the course of events with tolerable 
satisfaction. At length, two or three compilers of annals, whose 
collections have long since perished, prepared the way for 
the introduction of a new style of historical composition ; and 
just at the moment when the signal events of the Persian in- 
vasion might still be gathered from the lips of many who had 
shared in the glory of repelling the barbarian ; and when time 
enough had elapsed to give to a historian the advantage of a 
calm review of evidence, a writer appeared peculiarly fitted 
by the qualities of his mind for compiling a narrative of facts 
so extraordinary that, if recounted by a writer less eminent for 
simplicity and ingenuousness of manner, they could hardly have 
gained credence. 

Herodotus, with an ardour in the pursuit of knowledge 
very rarely equalled, when in early life he devoted himself to 
the task of collecting the scattered materials of universal 
history, did not think himself qualified for the work, until he 
had visited every country to which the Greeks of his time 
had access ; — every where examining documents, conversing 
with the learned, and collating connected evidence. The fruits 
of his industry we have before us ; and it may confidently be 
affirmed that, after every exception has been admitted which 
the most sceptical co ticis m can substantiate, there will re- 
main, in the nineJflj ^Herodotus, a mass of information 
more extensiv^ fend instructive, than is to be 
found in any other author ^kntiquity. Unaffected, unam- 
bitious, mellifluous, perspicuous, in his style ; bland, candid, 
and gay, in his temper ; laborious in his researches ; judicious, 
for the most part, in his decisions ; and apparently free from 
sinister intentions and national prejudices — he holds up a 
mirror in which is seen, without obscurity, or distortion, the 
face of nature — the wonders of art — the revolutions of empire, 
and the characters of statesmen. This great writer brings 
down the history of Greece to the end of the year 479, before 
the Christian era, when the Persians were compelled for ever 
to abandon their long-cherished hope of crushing liberty in its 
birth place. 

The history of Greece is then taken up by the contem- 
porary and rival of Herodotus — Thucydides, whose account 
of the first two and twenty years of the Peloponnesian war 

a 3 



VI PREFACE. 

stands yet pre-eminent among works, ancient and modern, 
of the same class, for those substantial excellencies which make 
history the best teacher of political and military wisdom. Far 
less various, amusing, and attractive than Herodotus, he is 
more vigorous, more grave, and much more fraught with that 
solid instruction which those seek for who have to qualify 
themselves for public life. To Thucydides succeeds Xenophon, 
not inferior to either of his predecessors. His history of 
Greece — which however is the least finished of his writings — 
brings the series of events to the battle of Mantinaea, B. C. 
363. From this date, the history of Greece is to be gleaned, 
in the first place, from the orators, philosophers, and dramatic 
writers of the times ; and then from the compilers of a later 
age ; especially from Diodorus of Sicily, Plutarch and 
Arrian. 

But, from the three admirable writers first named, whose 
entire works do not exceed the compass of as many volumes, 
the substance of ancient history may be acquired : — and 
acquired, while taste is gratified and cherished, the imagination 
enriched by the painting of splendid scenes and splendid cha- 
racters, and the understanding invigorated by converse with 
writers who, in intellectual energy, have never been sur- 
passed. ^ 

It must, however, be acknojM Bhat some serious 

difficulties have hitherto stood |H la popular use 

of the ancient historians. Not indeed that there has been 
a lack of translations — or, in ^ome instances, of able trans- 
lations ; but these, without perhaps an e Btion, have been 
executed for the benefit of a comPCratifRy small class of 
readers ; and they are, in several important respects, abso- 
lutely unfitted for general perusal. At the time when the 
existing versions of the classical historians were executed — 
or we might even say at a much later period, that demand did 
not exist which is now in activity for works of this kind. 
Goldsmith's Histories of Greece and Rome were deemed to 
convey an ample measure of historical information to all but 
those who were to receive a finished education ; and it was for 
the convenience, almost exclusively of the learned, that such 
translations were made. But the improvements that are taking 
place in education create a want which those early translations 



PREFACE. vii 

can by no means supply, and though left in possession of 
their fair fame, they cannot be made to subserve a purpose 
never contemplated by their authors, and for which they are 
utterly unsuited. These assertions may be substantiated 
in the instance of the celebrated work now offered to the 
English reader. — 

Herodotus has been known to the English public till of late 
through the medium of two translations only.* The first was 
that of Little&ury, published nearly a century ago. Whether 
actually derived from the Greek cannot be ascertained ; but if 
so, it must have been done under the guidance of a faulty Latin 
version, and in fact abounds with misinterpretations of the 
author's meaning. Indeed it is but fair to say that the 
requisite means for fully understanding Herodotus were 
not, at that time, in existence; and nothing less than the 
most extensive learning, and the utmost industry, could then 
have ensured a tolerable measure of -success in so difficult a 
task. Besides its many errors, the version of Littlebury is 
extremely unattractive in its style — is deformed by un- 
couth expressions, and, if considered as a popular work, is 
liable to the capital objection of admitting many gross 
phrases. 

Beloe, whose translation of Herodotus has passed through 
several editions^J^ ttbed to have made more use of 
Larcher's French than of the Greek original. Be this as it 
may, while his version is much more vague and paraphrastic 
than that of his predecessor^Puittlebury, he has fallen into 
almost as many errors. — The rule of translation, which he 
quotes with approbation from Lord Bolingbroke, is one that 
admits of very wide deviations from the original, both in the 
rendering of words, and in the construction of sentences ; and 
it has ■ led him to give such a version of the most antique 
of the ancient historians as might, apart from its subject, be 

* There is extant an English translation of the first two books, 
dated 1584. A literal translation of Herodotus by a " Graduate of the 
University," and apparently intended to assist those who wish for such 
aid in reading the Greek, issued from the Oxford press four years ago ; 
and another, by Peter Edmund Laurent, more recently : neither of them, 
whatever may be their merits, meets the intention of the present 
translation. . 

a 4 



Vlll PREFACE. 

mistaken for a neat and smooth compendium of modern his- 
tory. A certain facility of style recommends the work ; but 
no one who refers to the original can allow it the praise of 
presenting a veritable resemblance of Herodotus : it is 
moreover burdened with a mass of notes, a large proportion 
of which are absolutely impertinent to the subject ; and are 
ii) themselves scarcely amusing. Beloe also, like Littlebury, 
admits phrases which must interdict the perusal of his trans- 
lation in a family. 

After grappling with the great and almost innumerable 
difficulties which belong to a task of this kind, I am far 
too sensibly impressed with their magnitude and amount 
to indulge the hope of having obtained complete success. 
Instead of professing any such hope, I will merely say that 
I have diligently availed myself of every kind of aid that has 
come within my reach ; and have most scrupulously laboured 
to put the English reader as fully in possession of the sense 
and style of Herodotus, as the idioms of our language would 
admit : loose and paraphrastic renderings I discard ; and 
would rather sometimes seem uncouth, than not retain the 
significant turns and emphatic phrases of my author** Indeed 
the analogies between the Greek and English languages are so 
many and striking, that they often invite an absolutely literal 
rendering. Or even when the constn ^^^kpf the Greek is 
unlike that of our own tongue, the differei e is not so great 
as to necessitate an entire departure from the ancient model ; 
while, by retaining these HelUpc forms, the reader is per- 



* Larcher, whose translation will, of course, be consulted by every . 
one who wishes to make himself master of Herodotus, and whose 
notes comprise the substance of all that is most important in the com- 
mentaries of* his predecessors, seems to make no attempt at a charac- 
teristic rendering of the original : on the contrary, he sedulously modifies 
and modernises whatever is most antique, and most Grecian in his 
author. His version is in fact an annotator's paraphrase — comprising 
and amplifying every particle of his author's meaning. It ought in justice 
to be remembered, that the genius of the French language is infinitely 
remote from that of the Greek, and can never adapt itself to the style 
of the great writers of antiquity. A French Homer, or a French He- 
rodotus, is as like the original as the Hectors and Caesars and Catos of 
the stage in the last century were, in their costumes, like the warriors of 
Greece and Rome. 



PREFACE. IX 

petually reminded of the age and country, the history of which 
he is reading. Thus in our authorized and excellent version 
of the Scriptures, innumerable forms of speech are admitted 
which, though they are far from being properly English, har- 
monize well with our modes of expression ; and at the same 
time preserve that air of antiquity which could not be 
lost without immense damage to the moral influence of the 
writings. 

In adapting my author to the purposes of general perusal — 
in making the history of Herodotus a family book, it 
was indispensable to modify some phrases, and even to omit 
a few sentences which, if rendered as former translators 
have done, must have restricted the work, as hitherto it has 
been restricted, within a comparatively narrow circle. In 
effecting these somewhat difficult modifications, the least pos- 
sible deviation from the original has been admitted ; and I 
think I may confidently say, that not a phrase has been dropped 
which any right-minded reader would wish to have been re- 
tained. No assurance of this kind can, I am aware, be satis- 
factory to a prurient taste ; but those whose taste is unhappily 
of that sort, would find exceedingly little to gratify it in 
Herodotus : and it is not to be endured that, in deference to 
the corrupted habits of mind of some persons, an author so 
instructive and entertaining should be confined to the shelves 
of scholars, solely on account of a few blemishes which 
belong, not so much "to the author, as to his age, and which 
himself, had he lived in our times, would have been most 
careful to avoid. 

Herodotus professes his fondness for the digressive style 
(see pp. 279, 551) and in fact, a large portion of the work 
consists of matter almost entirely foreign to the course of the 
narrative, and which, though managed on a profound prin- 
ciple of combination,* might, without injury to the story, be 

* The history of Herodotus has been not improperly called an Epic 
in prose : he evidently keeps the Homeric poems in view as a model ; 
and it would be not difficult to exhibit a systematic arrangement of parts 
much more artificial than a common reader may on a first perusal sup- 
pose. In this respect Herodotus was a more accomplished master of the 
art of composition than Thucydides, or even Xenophon, and is perhaps 
without a rival. 



X ( PREFACE. 

separated from it. Many of these digressions are in them- 
selves highly interesting and important, and contain the 
results of those exact and laborious researches on subjects of 
all kinds which our author prosecuted in the course of his 
extensive travels. They will, therefore, not less than the 
history itself, command the attention of the intelligent reader ; 
and the more so as the truth and accuracy of most of these 
descriptive passages have of late been established by the con- 
current testimony of modern travellers. But a considerable 
number of our author's digressions are of a kind that can 
scarcely interest any except the learned ; and a few must be 
acknowledged to possess scarcely the slenderest claim upon 
the perusal of a modern reader. As, these extrinsic portions 
of the work, whether more or less important in themselves, 
are perfectly separable from the narrative, and in fact divert 
and embarrass attention, and may with great advantage 
be read apart, they are distinguished throughout by 
crotchets, and a smaller type. By this means, moreover, the 
bulk of the volume has been considerably diminished. In 
effecting this plan, a perfect uniformity was not practicable ; 
for there are some digressions which, though not in themselves 
very important, could not properly be separated from the nar- 
rative : on the other hand, some port ions of the history, those 
relating to the early affairs of Gree( , for instance, though 
not less important than the main narrative, are not at all 
connected with it, and are inserted by Herodotus with so 
little regard to the order of time, that they tend to create 
confusion, unless the reader is already familiar with Grecian 
history. 

Each book is, in the present translation, subdivided into 
sections of convenient length, so far as the subject contained in 
them would admit ; at the same time, in the hope that the 
translation may be used by those who wish for aid in the 
perusal of the Greek, there is subjoined, at the corner of each 
page, a reference to the sections of the Greek text. By means 
of these the intermediate sections may always be ascertained 
without difficulty. For the most part, two sections of the 
Greek text belong to each page of the translation. 

No ancient author more invites annotation than Hero- 
dotus ; for his various descriptions of countries and nations, 



preface;. XV 

and his innumerable allusions, are susceptible of abundant 
illustration, and this sort of comment has in fact been largely, 
yet not too copiously, bestowed upon him,* and will continue 
to be bestowed; for hardly a traveller returns from Greece 
or from Asia, without bringing some notices which serve to 
establish or explain our author's assertions ; so that the decla- 
ration of Boerhaave is even more proper in our own times 
than it was in his; that " hodiernae observationes probant fere 
omnia magni viri dicta." But it must be obvious to every 
one, that illustrations of this kind, attended as they must 
always be, with the discussion of many doubtful points, can 
never be condensed within a small compass ; and must, at the 
least, exceed the bulk of the text. They are therefore neces- 
sarily excluded by the plan of the present work, in which 
the convenience of general readers, chiefly, is consulted. On 
the other hand, there are innumerable explanations of names 
and terms which, though they may be needed by the unlearned 
reader, he will much more commodiously obtain by consulting 
a classical dictionary — that of Lempriere, for example, than 
by referring perpetually to notes : and even, in the most con- 
densed form, such notes must have filled many sheets. There 
are, however, some lesser obscurities which demand expla- 
nation in passing : these are either subjoined to the page, 
or reserved to the end of the volume. It should be added 
that as, after a few sheets had gone to press, it was found 
that the work would exceed first calculations, all means that 
might save space were adopted, and the references to the after 
Notes avoided : these are not numerous, and will be readily 
found as they occur. The final Notes are preceded by a few 
general hints, applicable to a multitude of passages, and 
which therefore it may be well to peruse in the first 
instance. 

The Maps will, it is hoped, be found to contain all the names 

* Major Rennell's elaborate work, see p. 719, deserves always to be 
singled out from the mass of commentaries on Herodotus : I must 
however be allowed to express regret that this learned, though in the 
common acceptation of the term, unlearned writer, has relied implicitly 
upon the correctness of Beloe's translation. In not a few instances the 
Major's acute and ingenious reasonings would have been materially 
modified had he used a better version, or consulted the original. 



Xll PREFACE. 

most important to the intelligence of the narrative. In his 
account of the twenty Satrapies of the Persian Empire, pp. 
235 — 237, and elsewhere, when speaking of the countries 
and nations of Asia, Herodotus introduces some names 
which either occur in no other ancient author, or which are 
not so described as to afford the means of determining their 
locality. Conjectural reasonings have been advanced by 
annotators, with the view of settling these doubtful points ; 
but such hypotheses rest, for the most part, on exceedingly 
slender grounds, and I have thought it more candid to omit 
the names altogether, than to insert them, almost at random.* 
Some also of the less important names mentioned in the his- 
tory have necessarily been omitted in Maps on so small a 
scale. The towns, especially of Thessaly, Phocis, Doris, 
Boeotia, and Attica, could find space only on a map of large 
dimensions. 

When the first sheets went to press, I hesitated on the ques- 
tion of the orthography of Greek names ; and almost deter- 
mined to abandon entirely the latinized forms, and to adhere 
uniformly to the Greek. But in a work intended for general 
readers, I felt reluctant to deviate so greatly from common 
usage, although supported by the example of a few highly 
respectable modern writers. Nothing in fact can be much 
more absurd than, when two languages are before us, both 
equally accessible, and when the one has quite as near an 
affinity to our own pronunciation as the other, to derive the 
names belonging to the one from the modes of the other. 
The consequence of this practice has been to introduce in- 
numerable anomalies, and a great degree of uncertainty where, 
if the other method had been observed, few need have existed, 
and a ready means would have been at hand for determining 
every doubt. A reformation in this respect will certainly 
take place ere long ; especially as the Latin language is fast 
ceasing to be the medium of acquiring a knowledge of Greek.f 

* The name Pactyica, is perhaps an exception to the rule here pro- 
fessed, of admitting none, the locality of which is doubtful ; there are 
however strong, if not conclusive reasons, for placing it where it stands 
in the map, on the western side of the Indus. 

t By what terms the daemons of Grecian mythology are designated, 
is indeed a matter of extremely small importance ; yet as these names 



PREFACE.' XUl 

Besides the many anomalies which common usage has 
introduced into the orthography of Greek names, some 
diversity has sprung up in the hands of the copyists of 
Herodotus; so that, in not a few instances, the same name 
is differently spelt in different parts of the history. More- 
over, in a work of considerable extent, and so replete with 
proper names, in the orthography of which an error, if once 
admitted, easily escapes detection, it is perhaps excusable 
that a few should, even after a careful revision of the sheets, 
be found to exist. These oversights, it is hoped, are not nu- 
merous, or very important : the most considerable are named 
in a list of corrections, and great care has been taken in 
preparing and revising the Index, with the view of its forming 
a standard, wherever diversity or error in the body of the work 
may be detected. Where a number of references are made 
under a word, if one of them contains that kind of specific 
information which a reader consulting an index is likely to re- 
quire, he will find it indicated by the direction — see page, &c. 
For such particulars as are to be collected from ancient 
authors, relative to Herodotus and his writings, I beg to 
refer the reader to a volume recently published, in which 
the genuineness and authenticity of the history are established 
in illustration of a general argument. Yet, in consigning 
my translation of this celebrated work to the perusal of a 
class of readers hitherto little acquainted with its merits and 
importance, I cannot refrain from reminding them that, 



have become indissolubly associated with those of the illustrious men 
whose unhappiness it was to reverence such divinities, and must there- 
fore by this connexion be held in perpetual remembrance, it would be as 
well to give them their original appellations. No good reason can be 
assigned why Zeus, Hera, Aphrodita, Athena, Ares, Hephaistos, Po- 
seidon, Dionysos, Artemis, Hermes, &c. should be called Jupiter, Juno, 
Venus, Minerva, Mars, Vulcan, Neptune, Bacchus, Diana, Mercury. 
These needless translations serve only to remove from our familiarity a 
language incomparably more worthy of the labour of acquisition than the 
one which, till of late, has stood as interpreter to every people of 
Europe. This injurious intervention is fast falling into disuse, and its 
complete removal Avill probably be attended by a much more widely 
diffused acquaintance with the worthier tongue, than has hitherto been 
thought desirable. 



XIV PREFACE. 

besides a fund of information on a great variety of subjects, 
more or less interesting, it contains a narrative, undoubt- 
edly authentic, of the great conflict to the successful issue 
of which the modern nations of Europe are directly in- 
debted for their own possession of all that is valuable in phi- 
losophy, poetry, art, and civil liberty. More than once 
within the limits of authentic history, and once even in our 
own times, there has stood in opposition on the field of war, 
on the one side the enslaved myriads of a brutal despotism, 
and on the other, the champions of intelligence and liberty : 
and the chance of battle — rather should we say the disposing 
hand of Him who rules among the nations, has in an hour 
determined the fate of mankind for many succeeding ages. 
On these memorable occasions, if lawless ambition had 
triumphed, the spark of mind must have been extinguished, 
and the germ of improvement destroyed. Such a crisis for 
the human family was brought to its issue in the fields 
of Plataea and in the straits of Salamis. There the light 
of knowledge, the splendours of art, and the substantial be- 
nefits of freedom, were preserved from threatening destruc- 
tion for the advantage of all succeeding times. It may even 
be added that, although the divine wisdom might doubtless 
have found other meaus of accomplishing its designs, yet 
was it in fact by the preservation of the independence of 
Greece, when almost crushed beneath the Asiatic hordes, 
that the western world was held in preparation for the dif- 
fusion of Christianity. To affirm that true religion is de- 
pendent absolutely upon the previous existence of know- 
ledge and liberty were absurd, and contrary to facts. Ne- 
vertheless it is certain — and it forms a bright article in the 
correlative evidence of the truth of the system contained in 
the Scriptures, that Christianity has ever loved to walk in 
the track of intelligence; and has shrunk away from the 
haunts of ignorance and oppression. This association seems 
so intimate, so natural, that when we contemplate the vast 
regions of the earth that are still oppressed by ferocious 
despotisms, shrouded by ignorance, and defiled by impure 
superstitions, it is hard to resist the belief that the three 
evils must be dispelled together ; and that whether religion, 



PREFACE. XV 

science, or liberty, is to lead the way, the companion blessings 
shall presently follow on the same path. 

It would seem a chimerical alarm to anticipate another 
universal crisis of civilization ; or to suppose that, at a second 
Thermopylae, the myriads of Asia are again to press upon the 
little band of the champions of freedom. — This may never be. 
Nevertheless it is a fact, highly deserving of consideration, 
that the proportion of the civilized to the uncivilized mass of 
the human family is scarcely, if at all larger now than it was 
in the age when Themistocles headed the one party, and 
Xerxes ruled the other; — that the uncivilized millions of 
mankind have not advanced a step in the path of improvement 
since that age ; but have rather retrograded ; and perhaps it 
might be added that these millions are now almost as much at 
the disposal of the enormous ambition of a semi-barbarous 
power as they were when the bones of every people of Asia 
whitened the way between Athens and the Hellespont. 



By the same Author, 

THE PROCESS OF HISTORICAL PROOF, 

Exemplified and Explained, with Observations on the Peculiar Points 

of the Christian Evidence, 

8vo. 9s. 

In this volume, the genuineness and authenticity of the History of Herodotus 
are established in illustration of the method of conducting arguments of this kind ; 
and particulars are given relating to his Life and Writings. 



HISTORY OF THE TRANSMISSION OF ANCIENT BOOKS 
TO MODERN TIMES ; 

or a Concise Account of the Means by which the 

Genuineness and Authenticity 

of Ancient Historical Works are ascertained : with an 

Estimate of 

the comparative Value of the Evidence usually adduced in support of the 

Claims of the Jewish and Christian Scriptures, 

8vo. 8s. 



EPITOME OF THE HISTORY. 



The principal subject of the work is the deliverance of Greece from 
the danger which so long threatened it of subjugation by the Persian 
kings. But to render the narrative of the invasion of Greece fully intel- 
ligible, it was necessary first to describe the rise and advancement of 
that vast empire, with the collected forces of which the Greeks had to 
contend. This design leads the author back to the most remote age of 
Asiatic history; yet, in order to open the path before his readers 
gradually, he commences, not with the history of the more distant 
nations, but with that of a kingdom with the affairs of which the Greeks 
were in some measure acquainted : accordingly, 



BOOK I, 

After a short exordium referring to the ancient animosities between 
the people of Asia and of Greece, opens, p. 3, with the history of the 
Lydian Kingoom, commencing with the story of Gyges, ancestor of 
Croesus, who usurped the throne of his master, Candaules. Then follow 
the reigns of Ardys, Sadyattes, and Alyattes (6 — 8) interrupted by the 
story — half fabulous, of Arion (9). The history of Croesus succeeds 
(10) whose conquests in Asia Minor are described (11). The mention of 
the growing splendour of Sardis, capital of Lydia, introduces an account 
(perhaps founded on facts) of an interview between Solon, the Athenian 
legislator, and Croesus (12 — 15); which is followed by the story of the 
death of Atys, son of Croesus (15 — 19). 

Crcesus, aroused from his sorrow by the growing power of the Per- 
sians under Cyrus, consults the oracles of Greece, Asia, and Africa 
(19 — 23) ; and obtains an answer which impels him to invade the Persian 
territory. He first solicits aid from the Greeks : this circumstance 

b 



XV111 EPITOME OF 

introduces a digression (23) containing the early history, first of the 
Athenians, under Pisistratus — called the tyrant; and then of the Lace- 
daemonians, (27 — 30) under Lycurgus, the legislator. Having formed 
a treaty with the Spartans, Croesus invades Cappadocia (31) and is 
presently opposed by Cyrus (34) who compels him to retire to Sardis 
(35) and following his retreat, defeats him under the walls of the city 
(37). Croesus, shutting himself up there, is made prisoner, and be- 
comes a pensioner upon the bounty of the Persian kings (38—44). Our 
author then gives a brief account of Lydia, and of the manners of the 
people (44—46). 

The history of Cyrus is introduced by that of the Assyrians, and of 
the Medes, under Dejoces (46 — 49) to whom succeeds Phraortes, 
Cyaxares — during whose reign the Scythians invade Media (50) and 
Astyages, of whom Cyrus was the grandson, by his daughter Mandane. 
The story of the birth and education of Cyrus (51 — 60) is of very 
doubtful authenticity. Cyrus having attained manhood, moves the 
Persians to revolt from the Medes under Astyages, succeeds in his 
rebellion (60 — 64) and thus transfers the supreme power in Asia from 
the Persians to the Medes. Herodotus then describes very particularly 
me manners, religion, and customs of the Persians (64—68). 

Cyrus having conquered Lydia, reduces all the Greeks of Asia Minor 
to obedience : of these, both Ionians and JEolians, some account is given 
(68 — 72) introductory to a narrative of the successes of Harpagus, the 
Persian general, in overcoming the several settlements of the Greeks 
on the continent (72 — 84). 

Meanwhile Cyrus in person had vanquished the whole of Upper Asia — 
the countries between the Euphrates and the Indus. Of these conquests 
Herodotus particularizes only that of Assyria ; and first describes 
Babylon, the capital of that country, with its prodigious buildings, men- 
tioning some particulars of its history (84 — 90) and then narrates the 
extraordinary means by which the city was captured (90 — 92) and 
describes the wealth and manners of the Babylonians (92 — 96). 

Cyrus, after reducing Babylon, carries his arms against the Massa- 
getes, a people of eastern Scythia; in which expedition he perishes, 
with a large part of his army (97 — 103). In this narrative are inserted 
an account of the Caspian sea, and its tributary rivers (97) and a de- 
scription of the manners of the Massagetes. 



BOOK II, 

Announces the accession of Cambyses„ son of Cyrus, who resolves 
upon attempting the conquest of Egypt, of which country the history 
and description occupies the entire book. This copious description 



THE HISTORY. XIX 

is introduced by notices of the antiquity of the people, and their superior 
attainments (104 — 106). After giving a general survey of the country, 
its aspect, and extent (106 — 108) our author describes the Nile, and 
mentions the various opinions that have been given concerning its inun- 
dations, and its rise (108 — 119). An entertaining account of the man- 
ners and superstitions of the Egyptians follows (119 — 131); then a 
description of the animals peculiar to the Nile and its banks, including 
the Crocodile, the Hippopotamus, the Phoenix, &c. (131 — 135). The habits 
and usages of the Egyptians are then more minutely described (135 — 
143) ; after which a sketch of the remote history of Egypt is given, in- 
cluding the names of its sovereigns — Menes, Nitocris, Moeris, Sesostris, 
Pheron, Proteus, Rampsinitus, Cheops, Chephren, Mycerinus, Asychis, 
Anysis, Sethon (143 — 167). This sketch — probably containing some 
particles of truth, includes a disquisition concerning the people ot 
Colchis (145) ; another relating to Helen and the Trojan war (149 — 153) 
and a description of the Pyramids (157 — 159) ; of the temple of Bubastis 
(163) ; with conjectures on the Egyptian and Grecian mythologies 
(166, 167). 

The middle period of Egyptian history rests on better evidence, and 
commences with the reigns of the twelve kings, the constructors of the 
Labyrinth, near the lake of Moeris (167 — 170). These were supplanted 
by one of themselves — Psammitichus, assisted by certain Ionians and 
Carians (171 — 174) : he was succeeded by Necho, and he by Psaminis- 
Our author here describes the magnificent temple of Latona (173), and 
introduces an anecdote of the Elians. The later period of Egyptian 
history commences with the reign of Apries, dethroned .by his general 
\masis(176 — 185). The distinctions of caste are described (178), the 
^mple of Minerva (179), with a digression relating to the Greeks of 
&sia (183) and to the people of Cyrene (184). 



BOOK III, 



Resumes the narrative of the invasion of Egypt by Cambyses, and the 
preparations for it, including a treaty with the Arabians (186 — 190). 
Psammenitus, son of Amasis, opposes the Persians, is vanquished, 
insulted, and put to death by Cambyses (190 — 194) who conducts him- 
self outrageously towards both the living and the dead (194) and madly 
undertakes an expedition against the Ethiopians, whose manners are 
described (195 — 199). On his return he mortally wpunds Apis, com- 
missions Prexaspes to murder his brother, Smerdis, and commits other 
violences (200—206). 

A digression contains the story of Polycrates, tyrant of Samos, and 
that of Periander, tyrant of Corinth (207— 216). 

b 2 



XX EPITOME OF 

While Cambyses lingered in Egypt, his throne was usurped by two 
Mages, whom he had left in charge of his palace. The news of the 
conspiracy occasions his death, at Ecbatana in Syria (217 — 221). The 
Mages, successful in their enterprise, enjoy dominion six months; but 
their fraud is at length discovered, and themselves slain by seven con- 
federate princes (221 — 229), who hold consultation on the form of 
government to be established, and at length confer the supreme power 
upon one of their number — Darius, son of Hystaspes (229 — 234). The 
first care of the new king was to distribute the empire into twenty 
prefectures — called Satrapies, of which, and the tribute rendered by 
each, a particular account is given (234 — 238) followed by a miscel- 
laneous description of the produce of several countries, especially of 
India, Arabia, Ethiopia, and Europe (238 — 244). 

Intaphernes, one of the seven princes who had conspired against the 
Mages, on pretext of an outrage committed in the palace, is put to death 
with his family (245). The story of Polycrates is resumed, and his 
tragical fate narrated, to which succeeds that of his destroyer Orcetes 
(246 — 250). Darius, at the instigation of his wife, despatches a Greek 
physician, named Democedes, and who eludes him, to explore the coasts 
of Greece, preparatory to an invasion of that country (251 — 257); and 
presently afterwards reduces Samos, and confers the island upon 
Syloson, brother of Polycrates (257—262). Meanwhile the Babylonians 
revolt and are invested : after a long siege Babylon is taken by the 
self-devotion of Zopyrus (262 — 267). 



BOOK IV. 

After the capture of Babylon, Darius undertakes an expedition 
against the Scythians, the narrative of which is introduced by a copious 
and authentic account of the geography of the country, of the man- 
ners and superstitions of the people, and of the nations beyond them 
(268 — 301, and 307 — 313) including a digression on the geography of 
the three continents (282—286). 

Darius advances against the Scythians through Thrace, by bridges 
constructed over the Ister (301 — 307) and after a long pursuit of the 
enemy, who constantly retires before him, is at length compelled to 
retreat precipitately, having lost a large part of his army (313 — 325). 

About the same time a Persian army penetrated as far as Barca and 
Cyrene, in Libya, at the solicitation of Pheretima, wife of Battus. 
Our author first gives the history of those colonies (325 — 336) and then 
a description of Libya, and its various nations (336 — 346). The Persians 
accomplish by stratagem the cruel revenge of Pheretima, who soon 
afterwards herself perishes miserably (346—349). 



THE HISTORY. XXI 



BOOK V. 

After the return of the army from Scythia, the Persians, under 
Megabazus, extend their conquests in Thrace, of which country the 
several nations are described (350 — 353). Darius takes occasion to 
vanquish and transport the Paeonians from Europe to Asia (353 — 356); 
and sends ambassadors to Amyntas, king of Macedonia; these, in 
revenge of their insolence, perish by the hand of Alexander, son of the 
king (356—358). 

Histijeus, tyrant of Miletus, who in recompence of his services had 
received a government in Thrace, is recalled, and detained in honour- 
able captivity at Susa, whence he finds means to instigate a revolt of the 
Ionian states, under the management of his nephew Aristagoras. 
This rebellion, after a long struggle, destructive to the Greeks of Asia, 
is quashed, and its authors, Histiaeus and Aristagoras, meet their fate 
(359 — 421). The narrative of the Ionian war includes digressions 
relating to — Sparta, and its king Cleomenes, to whom Aristagoras applied 
in vain for aid (367 — 374); then to Athens, where he was more success- 
ful. The Athenian factions, under the Pisistratids and the Alcmaeonids, 
are described (375 — 384) as well as the war between Athens and 
jEgina (385 — 390,) and the attempts of the Lacedeemonians against the 
liberties of the former (390—397). The Athenians, at the solicitation 
of Aristagoras, send a force to aid the lonians, and conjointly with them, 
burn Sardis, which event determines Darius to invade Greece, and 
serves as a pretext for all the outrages afterwards committed by the 
Persians under Xerxes (397 — 409). The lonians are joined by the 
Cyprians, who however share the same fate (401 — 405). 



BOOK VI, 

Continues the narrative of the Ionian war, terminated by the fall of 
Miletus (409—417). The Samians, who had taken part in the rebellion, 
escaped from the vengeance of Persia by settling themselves at Zancla 
in Sicily (419). 

The victorious Persians reduce Chios, Lesbos, Tenedos, and the towns 
of the Chersonese, which hitherto had been governed by Mii/tiadks, 
an Athenian (421 — 425) who, on this occasion, returns to Athens (426). 
These successes encourage Darius to make an attempt upon Greece ; 
but the army sent out under the command of Mardonius, penetrates 
no further than Macedonia, and retires with dishonour (427, 428). 
Heralds are now despatched to try the dispositions of the several states 
of Greece, some of which render the customary tokens of submission 
to the Persian monarch ; thus Greece became divided against itself. 



XX11 EPITOME OF 

A long digression contains the history of the rivalries of the Spartan 
kings, Demaratus and Cleomenes, issuing in the banishment of the 
former, who took refuge at the Persian court ; and in the death of the 
latter by his own hands (430 — 443). The affairs of JEgina lead Leo- 
ttchides, the successor of Demaratus, to Athens, where he recounts 
the story of Glaucus (444—448). 

Meanwhile Darius prepares for a second invasion of Greece ; and an 
expedition, under the command of Datis and Artaphernes, crosses 
the iEgaean sea, reduces Naxos, and Eretria, in Eubcea, lands in Attica, 
and takes up its position on the field of Marathon (448 — 452). Here 
the Persians are opposed by a body of Athenians and Plataeans, who, 
under the command of Miltiades, rout the barbarians with great 
slaughter, and drive the survivors on board their fleet (452 — 461). The 
suspicious conduct of the Alcmaeonids on this occasion, introduces a 
history of that powerful family (461—465). The Persians having 
retired to their own seas, Miltiades undertakes an enterprize against 
Paros, in which failing, he is capitally accused to the Athenians, and 
condemned to pay an enormous fine ; but dies of a wound received in his 
late attempt (466— 4T0). 



BOOK VII. 

Darius preparing to renew the war upon Greece, is diverted by the 
revolt of the Egyptians ; but dies when about to set out at the head of 
his army (471 — 473) and is succeeded by his son, Xerxes. The young 
king, at the instigation of Mardonius, aud contrary to the better counsels 
of hi6 uncle Artabanus, determines to prosecute his father's intentions 
against the Greeks of Europe, and issues orders for collecting forces 
from every nation under his sway (473 — 486). While the levies are 
making, Xerxes causes a canal to be cut through the neck of the isthmus 
of Mount Athos, to obviate the necessity of doubling the dangerous 
headland (486) : at the same time bridges are constructed across- the 
Hellespont for the passage of the land forces (487). 

When all is in readiness, the Persian monarch marches at the head 
of an innumerable barbarian rout from Critallis in Cappadocia, and 
proceeds through Sardis, to Abydos, on the Hellespont, where the 
bridges had been a second time formed ;— the first having been broken 
up by a storm (486 — 494). Before passing the current which divides 
Europe from Asia, the vain king reviews his motley host and fleet, which 
covered all the shores, and takes occasion to moralize with his uncle 
Artabanus (495 — 500) and the next day passes the bridge of barges, 
and all having reached Doriscus in Thrace, the army is numbered ; and 
our author specifies the several nations mustered in the army and 
fleet, describing particularly their various costumes, and naming the 
generals and commanders (501—515). After the review, Xerxes held 



THE HISTORY. XXlll 

a dialogue with Demaratus, the ex-king of Sparta, who attended him on 
the expedition (515 — 518). The army then advances through Thrace, 
Macedonia, and Thessaly, till it reaches the pass of Thermopylae ; 
meanwhile the fleet moves along the coast at an equal rate (518—528) ; 
at the same tinuj heralds are sent throughout Greece to demand the 
submission of the several states (528 — 531). 

The Greeks now prepare to oppose the invader, and the Athenians, 
as a necessary measure, send to ask advice of Apollo at Delphi, who 
gives them first an answer fraught with horrors, and then a mitigated 
reply, containing a couched intimation of which, as interpreted by 
Themistocles, they take advantage (531—536). The Greeks, con- 
voked in a general assembly, first compose all differences among them- 
selves, and then despatch embassies to solicit aid from the Argives, 
the Syracusans, the Corcyrseans, and the Cretans (536 — 551). The 
account of these embassies includes the history of Gelon, tyrant of 
Syracuse (541—543). 

At the request of the Thessalians, the Greeks send a body of troops to 
occupy the pass of Tempe ; from which they presently retire, leaving 
the Thessalians to make terms with the invader (551 — 553). It is 
then resolved to despatch a small force to defend the nearer pass of 
Thermopyl^;, and to station the fleet at Artemisium, on the northern 
extremity of Euboea (553 — 555). The two armies being now about to 
encounter, Herodotus calculates the numbers of the barbarian host 
(557, 558). The vast superiority of the Asiatic fleet is presently reduced 
by a storm, fatal to a large number of vessels (559 — 561): The pass of 
Thermopylae is occupied by a small body of Greeks, under the command 
of I«EONiDAs,king of Sparta: these are vainly attacked by the Persians, 
Medes, and Saces, until being circumvented and surrounded on all sides, 
the Spartans, three hundred in number, with Leonidas, who alone 
remained at their post, are all slain (563 — 581). 



BOOK VIII, 

Commences with an enumeration of the Grecian fleet, assembled at 
Artemisium, under the command of Eurybiades (583). The barbarian 
fleet being stationed on the opposite main, at Aphetae, several engage- 
ments take place : and though the Greeks acquire some confidence, and 
much credit, they at length resolve to retire, and to take position nearer 
to their homes. During this time a detachment of ships, sent round the 
island to inclose the Greeks, is destroyed in a storm (583 — 591). Xerxes 
e men on board the fleet by a trickish exhibition of the 
slain at The; lopylae (592) and advances through Phocis and Bceotia 
towards Athens, having on the way despatched a body of troops to 
nder the temple of Apollo ; but the presumptuous attempt 
is repulsed by extraordinary means (594— 598). 



XXIV EPITOME OF 

The fleet of the confederate Greeks now takes up its station in the 
straits around Salami s, where fierce altercations ensue among the chiefs, 
and where they are retained only by the stratagems and management 
of Themistocles (598 — 602). Meanwhile the Athenians abandon their 
city, which, after a short resistance on the part of a few who remain, is 
occupied by Xerxes (602 — 604). Differences among the Grecian chiefs 
are now renewed (606 — 607), while Xerxes holds a council of war at 
Phalerum (699 — 611). The Peloponnesians, influenced by a selfish and 
blind policy, think only of defending their peninsula (612, 613) and to 
prevent their defection from the confederacy, Themistocles uses a stra- 
tagem which biings on an engagement between the two fleets at 
Salamis, in which the barbarians sustain a signal and irreparable 
defeat. On this occasion Aristides "the just" gives proof of his 
patriotism (614—624). 

Xerxes, seized with dismay equal to his previous presumption, medi- 
tates a retreat, and is persuaded to retire, leaving a chosen body of the 
army under the command of Mardonius,to achieve the conquest of Greece. 
The monarch, followed by a starving mob of Asiatics, reaches and crosses 
the Hellespont in safety (624—637). Meanwhile the Grecian fleet 
attacks Andros, and obtains money from some of the islands (632 — 637). 
After dividing the spoils, and dedicating a tythe to the gods, they deny 
to Themistocles the honours which all confess are due to him, and which 
the Spartans alone have the grace to render (638). 

A body of the Persian army under Artabazus attacks Palene during 
the winter; but is discomfited, and rejoins the army cantoned in 
Thessaly (639—641). The shattered remains of the Asiatic fleet retire 
to Samos for the winter (642). 

On the approach of spring both parties prepare to renew the contest, 
The Grecian fleet commanded by Leotychides is assembled at iEgina; 
while Mardonius, who had passed the winter in Thessaly, first sends to 
consult the Grecian oracles on the event of the war (643), and then 
despatches Alexander, king of Macedonia — the history of whose family 
forms the subject of a digression (645, 646) — to Athens, with the hope of 
detaching the Athenians from the confederacy. This measure alarms 
the fears of the Spartans; but the firm and indignant reply of the 
Athenians to the proposals of the common enemy, and to the base sus- 
picions of their ally, convince the one that he has nothing to hope, and 
the other that they have nothing to fear, from the irresolution or selfish- 
ness of that people (647—651). 



BOOK IX. 



The Athenians, feeling it to be impracticable to defend their city, once 
again abandon it ; and Mardonius advancing without opposition through 



THE HISTORY. XXV 

Bceotia and Attica, fixes his head quarters in it, and thence sends a 
second proposition to the Athenians, now assembled at Salamis; but 
this is rejected with violent indignation (652 — 654) ; though the sinister 
and selfish behaviour of the Spartans gives reason to believe that they 
would abandon their allies as soon as it should seem safe to do so (655). 
At length their fears are awakened, and they despatch a body of troops 
from Peloponnesus to oppose the invader in Bceotia : these are followed 
by the other Peloponnesians, and a force of considerable strength draws 
towards the centre of war (655 — 662) until the two armies look each 
other in the face from the opposite banks of the Asopus, on the northern 
side of which river Mardonius had constructed a fortified camp. During 
several days the Persian cavalry annoys the Greeks, who with difficulty 
maintain their ground ; but a general action is avoided by both parties : 
meanwhile the right of precedence is hotly contended for by the 
Tegeans and Athenians; and accorded to the latter by the suffrage 
of the Spartans, whose right of preference is acknowledged by all 
(662-667). 

At length the line is formed on both sides; but afterwards deranged, 
and again restored, through the fears of the Lacedaemonians (667 — 670). 
The story of Tisamenus, and then that of Hegesistratus — both diviners, 
form parentheses in this part of the narrative (670 — 673.) Ten days 
pass, during which the omens on both sides discourage offensive warfare ; 
meanwhile movements and perplexities take place among the Greeks, 
who are hardly retained in front of the enemy (673 — 680), but a reso- 
lution is agreed to for occupying a station near Plat;ea. In effecting 
this change of position a Spartan, named Amompharetus, displays, first 
his contumacy, then his irresolution ; the consequences of which, and the 
withdrawment of the Greeks from their ground, bring on a general 
engagement, in which, after some obstinate fighting, the Persians are 
utterly routed, Mardonius slain, and the confused host driven pre- 
cipitately within their fortified camp (680 — 688) which however is pre- 
sently forced by the Greeks, who effect an almost entire destruction of 
their unresisting enemies ; one division only of the army, under 
Artabazus, having made good a timely retreat (688 — 690). Incidents 
connected with the battle close the narrative of this signal day 
(691—698). 

On the same day a battle not much less important takes place between 
the Greeks and Barbarians at Mycale', on the coast of Ionia. The 
Grecian fleet, at the solicitation of certain Samians > had moved across 
the Icarian sea, in pursuit of the Persians, who, on their approach, 
hauled their vessels ashore, and surrounded them with a palisado. The 
Greeks, under Leotychides, effect a landing, attack and defeat the 
Persians, destroy the fleet, collect a large booty, and depart (698 — 708) 
sailing towards the Hellespont, where they separate — the Pelopon- 
nesians returning home ; while the Athenians besiege Sestus, which at 
length they reduce, and inflict signal vengeance upon the flagitious 

C 



XXvi EPITOME OF THE HISTORY. 

Artayctes : then collecting the remains of the raft by which Xerxes 
had crossed the Hellespont, they return to Greece, laden with wealth, 
trophies, and glory (711 — 715). 

Meanwhile Xerxes, first at Sardis, and afterwards at Susa, loses the 
recollection of his defeat amid incestuous amours, and blots out the 
remembrance of the destruction of his people with the blood of his 
family (708-711). 



CHRONOLOGY 



CORRECTIONS. 



Page Liue - 

19 14 read Aba, and at p. 595, and 643 

21 7 If the common reading is followed — rpia yifXiTakavru, it should be 
rendered " one talent and a half," but Schweigheeuser and Gaisford 
adopt the reading Tpirov rifxiTaXavrov, which means " three 
and a half talents :" see Matthia, sect. 143. 
25 last line, r. Tyrrhenians 
272 17 r. Agathyrsus 
343 22 for on the roof, r. over the house 
366 24 r. Myus 
369 25 r, Elis, and p. 370, 1. 2. 
376 24 place inverted commas at the end of the line, after Teleboes," 

and omit them after Cadmus. 
432 2 from the bottom, r. Pythions 
450 in the verse, for them, r. then 
463 3 from the bottom, r. Trapezus 
524 5 r. Therma * 

527 last line, for the descendants of the Aleuads of Thessaly, r. the sons of 
Aleuas, who were Thessalians 



BOOK I. 

CLIO. 

SECTION I. 

EARLY HISTORY OF THE LYDIAN KINGDOM. 

Herodotus of Halicarnassus publishes bis researches 

in order to prevent the achievemgrts of men from fading 

in the oblivion of time, ^ "lest %e great and admirable 

exploits both of Greeks and Barbarians should fail of 
.1 i -• » 

t> „,f lr uue renown. He also proposes to explain the 

occasions of the wars which have been carried on be- 
tween them. 

The Persian historians impute the origin of the dissen- 
sion to the Phoenicians. For these people coming from B* C. 
the shores of what is called the Red Sea {Indian Ocean) 
and settling upon the borders of this Sea (the Mediter- 
ranean) in the country they now inhabit, presently under- 
took long voyages, carrying on the commerce of Egypt 
and Assyria, with the surrounding countries. Among 
other places they touched at Argos, at that time the prin- 
cipal city of Greece, where they exposed their cargo for 
sale during five or six days, in which time they found 
purchasers for the greater part of their goods. At length 
a number of women came down to the shore, among whom 1687. 
was Io, the daughter of king Inachus ; — the Greeks give 
her the same name. While these women stood about the 
stern of the ship, pr chasing such things as pleased them 
best, the Phoenician encouraging each other, sprang upon 

B 



2 EARLY HISTORY OF 

them, and though the greater part escaped, they took Io, 
with some others, whom they carried on board, and im- 
mediately set sail for Egypt. Thus, according to the Per- 
sians, was Io carried to Egypt :— the Greeks* relate the 
story otherwise ; but the former, affirming this to have 
been the origin of the animosity between the two nations, 
add that some time afterwards, certain Greeks whom they 
do not name, but who were probably Cretans, landing at 
Tyre, in Phoenicia, seized Europa, daughter of the 
B- C. kins- : — this was only an even retaliation : — but not yet 

1582 ... 

satisfied, they committed a second injury, for sailing m a 
ship of war to M&, on the Phasis, a city of Colchis, after 
concludino- some other affairs, they^ seized Medea, 

1349. daughter of vLa. king. When the king of Colchis sent 
ambassadors to Gree«^^ demanding his daughter, and 
satisfaction for the injtrry, be received for answer that, 
as no amends had been made to the king- <of Argos, none 
should be made to him. 

In the next age, as the same authors affirm, Alexander, 
(Paris) son of Priam, having heard these accounts, and 
wishing to take a wife by force from Greece, which he 

1290. believed he might do with impunity, carried away Helen. 
When .the Greeks sent ambassadors to demand Helen, and 
reparation, the Trojans reminded them of the seizure of 
Medea, for which they had rendered no amends ; and re^ 
proached them for asking for reparation which, in a like 
case they had refused to give. Hitherto nothing had taken 
place but these mutual violences ; but when the Greeks 
carried war into Asia, before any invasion of Europe had 
been attempted, they became the authors of deeper in- 
' juries. And though, as these Persian authors affirm, the 
seizure of women is a wrong; to avenge it so seriously is a 
folly unbecoming wise men, who should not think women who 
have been thus carried off worthy of much concern ; for it 

* According to some copies, the Phoenicians. 

(3) 



1270. 



THE LYDIAN KINGDOM. 3 

is manifest that without some consent on their part, they 
would not have been taken. And the Persians declare 
that with themselves, no regard has ever been paid to such 
losses. While the Greeks, for the sake of a Lacedaemonian 
woman, raised a vast army, and invading Asia, overthrew 
the kingdom of Priam. From that time the Persians 
have always regarded the Greeks as their enemies ;— for 
they claim Asia and all its nations as their own — consider- 
ing Europe and Greece as forming a separate world. 

Such is the account given by the Persians, who assign b. c 
the taking of Troy as the cause of their hostility to the 
Greeks. As for Io, the Phoenicians tell a different story, 
denying that any force was used by them towards her, and 
affirming that she left Argos in a Phoenician vessel to hide 
her own dishonour, and to skreen herself from the dis- 
pleasure of her parents. For my own part, without 
attempting to decide which of these accourits is true, I 
shall, having named him whom we well know to have 
been the first author of the wrongs sustained by the 
Greeks, proceed in my history, relating the affairs of 
various states — the small as well as the great ; remember- 
ing that most of those which once were flourishing, are 
now decayed ; while those which in our own times have 
risen to eminence, were formerly quite inconsiderable. 
Impressed therefore with the instability of human affairs, 
I shall pay equal regard to all. 



Croesus the Lydian, and son of Alyattes, was master B. C. 
of the nations included within the Halys, which river, 
rising in the south, and separating Syria from Paphla- 
gonia, runs northward till it empties itself into the 
Euxine. This Croesus was the first of the Barbarians 
known to have reduced some of the Greeks under his 
yoke, obliging them to pay tribute; while he formed 
(6) b 2 



4 EARLY HISTORY OP 

alliances with others of them. For he, having reduced 
• the Ionians, the iEolians, and the Dorians of Asia, to 
bondage, entered into a treaty with the Lacedaemonians. 
Before the reign of Croesus all the Greeks were free : 
for the invasion of Ionia by the Cimmerians at a more 
remote period, was only a predatory incursion, not fol- 
lowed by the conquest of cities. 

The kingdom (of Lydia) which was formerly possessed 
by the family of the ' Heraclidae, passed into that of 
Croesus — called Mermnades — in the manner presently to 
be related. Candaules, named by the Greeks Myrsilus 
king of Sardis, sprung from Alcaeus, son of Hercules. 
For Agron, son of Ninus, grandson of Belus, and great 
grandson of Alcaeus, was the first of the Heraclidae who 
reigned in Sardis, as Candaules, son of Myrsus was the 
last. Those who reigned in this country before Agron 
sprung from Lydus, son of Atys, from whom the people, 
before called Maeonians, received their present name — 
Lydians. From this primitive race the Heraclidae — de- 
scended from Hercules, and a bond- worn an of Jardanus — 
after administering the government, obtained it for them- 
From selves, at the command of an oracle. This race possessed the 
1221' throne in a direct line of succession of two and twenty gene- 
*° 6 rations, extending through a period of five hundred and 
five years ; till it ended in Candaules, son of Myrsus. 

This Candaules passionately loved his wife, whom he 
believed to be the most beautiful of women. He had 
often boasted of her beauty to Gyges, son of Dascylus, 
an officer who enjoyed much of his confidence and favour, 
and whom he consulted on the most important occasions. 
At length — for the evil day of Candaules was come, he. 
proposed to Gyges to conceal himself in the queen's bed- 
chamber. Gyges endeavoured to dissuade the king from 
his purpose, reminding him that a woman with her gar- 
ments lays aside her modesty ; and that by such an act he 
should violate those dictates of universal experience which 

(8) 



THE LYDIAN KINGDOM. D 

■all ought to respect, and which confine every man to what 
is his own. In vain Gyges, who feared the mischief that 
might accrue to himself, used these arguments ; the king 
persisted in his purpose, and obliged his officer to conceal 
himself in the chamber : he was however perceived by the 
queen, who instantly resolving to avenge upon her hus- 
band the insult she had received, concealed her emotions 
of shame and anger. But early in the morning, she sent 
a confidential servant to command the attendance of Gyges', 
who ' supposing the queen ignorant of what had taken 
place, came as he was wont to do when so called for. On 
his appearing before her she thus addressed him :— 
" Gyges, I offer to your choice two paths : — either kill 
Candaules, and take me and the kingdom ; or die instantly 
yourself, lest the future commands of Candaules should 
lead you into yet greater crimes." Gyges stood awhile in 
amazement at the proposal, and then besought the queen 
not to oblige him to such a choice ; but not being able to 
move her from her purpose, and perceiving that in truth 
he must either kill his master or be killed, he determined 
to preserve his own life. — " Since," said he, " you compel 
me to kill my lord, tell me how we must approach him." 
" The place," replied the queen, " shall be that in which 
you were concealed ; and the time of the attempt when he 
sleeps." The plot being formed, and night arrived, Gyges, 
to whom no other means of preserving his life was left, 
followed the queen to the royal chamber ; and having re- 
ceived from her a dagger, was concealed in the place he had 
before occupied behind the door. As soon as Candaules 
slept, Gyges gently approached the bed, and slew him ; — 
thus obtaining the wife and the kingdom of his master. 
The fate of this prince is •commemorated in the verses of 
Archilochus, the Parian, who lived in the same age. 

Having thus ascended the throne, Gyges was confirmed 
in his authority by the decision of the Delphic oracle : 
for the Lydians, resenting the death of Candaules, took 
(13) b 3 



6 EARLY HISTORY OF 

up arms, but at length agreed with the partizans of Gyges- 
to abide by the determination of the oracle, and to obey 
him rather than restore the kingdom to the Heraclidae, 
if he should be declared to be king of the Lydians. The 
response of the Pythian established Gyges on the throne ; 
but in giving her reply she pronounced, that in the fifth 
generation from Gyges the Heraclidas should be avenged. 
This prediction was disregarded by the Lydians and their 
kings till it was confirmed by the event.* 

The Mermnades having by these means supplanted the 
Heraclidae, Gyges, as soon as he was well settled on the 
throne, sent not a few presents to Delphi. The greater 
part of his offerings were of silver, and still remain at that 
place : he also dedicated an immense quantity of gold, of 
which metal there were six vessels, weighing thirty ta- 
lents, and which deserve to be particularly mentioned : 
these are laid up in the treasury of the Corinthians ;f or 
rather, to be more correct, in that of Cypselus, son of 
Eetion. Excepting Midas, son of Gordius, king of 
Phrygia, Gyges is the first of the Barbarians recorded to 
have dedicated offerings at Delphi. This Midas sent 
there the royal throne from which he had administered 
justice — a piece of work worthy of being inspected ; it is 
placed along with the Gygean cups. The Delphians give 
to these offerings an appellation derived from the name of 
the donor. Gyges, upon assuming the government, at- 
tacked Miletus and Smyrna ; and took Colophon : — no 
other exploits worthy of record marked his reign, which 
lasted thirty-eight years. 
B. c. Ardys, the son of Gyges, claims a passing notice : he 

conquered the Prienians, and invaded the territory of 
Miletus. During his reign the Cimmerians, driven from 
their country by the Scythian Nomades, entered Asia, 

* See Note. 

t In the temple of Delphi there were several compartments or cells, 
containing the offerings of cities or of opulent individuals. 

(15) 



THE LYDIAN KINGDOM. , 7 

and captured the whole of Sardis, except the capital. 
After a reign of forty-nine years, Ardys was succeeded B - c « 
by his son, Sadyattes, who reigned twelve years, and who 617. 
was followed by Alyattes. This prince made war with 
Cyaxares, grandson of Dejoces, and with the Medes ; he 
also expelled the Cimmerians from Asia — took Smyrna, a 
colony from Colophon, and invaded the Clazomenians, 
from whom, however, he retired disappointed, and signally 
discomfited. His other memorable actions are these : — He 
carried on the war begun by his father with the Milesians in 
the following manner ; as often as the fields were loaded 
with the fruits of summer he invaded the country: his 
army marched to the sound of pipes, harps, and flutes ; 
both of the martial and of the dulcet sort. As he entered 
the Milesian territory, he neither overthrew nor burned the 
farm-houses, nor removed the fences ; but he totally de- 
stroyed (or pillaged) the fruits of the trees, and of the 
fields; and then returned, without besieging the city; 
which it would have been vain to attempt, as the Mile- 
sians were masters of the sea ; and he left them their 
houses that they might continue to cultivate their lands, 
and so prepare for him a future spoil. This kind of war 
was carried on during eleven years, in the course of which 
the Milesians suffered two signal discomfitures; one at 
Limeneum, in their own territory ; the other in the plains 
of the Maeander. Of the eleven years' war, six belonged 
to the reign of Sadyattes, who commenced it, and five to 
that of his son Alyattes, who, as I have said, vehemently 
prosecuted it. Of all the Ionians, none aided the Mile- 
sians in this war except the Chians, who took this occasion 
to requite the assistance they had received from the Mile- 
sians in their war with the Erythraeans. In the twelfth 
year of the war, it happened that when the corn (of the 
Milesians) was set on fire by the (Lydian) army, a violent 
wind carried the flames to a temple of Minerva, at 
Assesos, which was burned to the ground. No notice 
(19) b 4 



8 EARLY HISTORY OP 

was taken of this accident at the time ; but after the re- 
turn of the army to Sardis, Alyattes fell ill, and not pre- 
sently recovering, he sent messengers to Delphi, either 
on the advice of his friends or for his own satisfaction, to 
inquire of the god concerning his sickness. The Pythian 
refused, however, to give a response to his messengers till 
he should have rebuilt the temple of the Assesian Minerva, 
in the Milesian territory, which had been burnt. This, 
as I remember, is the account given of the affair by the 
Delphians ; but the Milesians add, that Periander, son of 
Cypselus, (tyrant of Corinth) having learned the reply 
of the oracle, sent the intelligence to Thrasybulus, then 
tyrant of Miletus, to whom he was bound by the ties of 
friendship and hospitality, that he might take his mea- 
sures accordingly. 

When the reply of the oracle was announced to 
Alyattes, he instantly sent a herald to Miletus, to propose 
a truce with Thrasybulus and the Milesians, during the 
time required for rebuilding the temple. But Thrasybulus, 
being previously informed of the reply of the oracle, and 
aware of the intentions of Alyattes, devised the follow- 
ing artifice to deceive him : — he caused all the corn in 
the city, from both the public and private granaries, to be 
brought into the market ; and then directed the people, 
upon a signal given, to abandon themselves to all kinds of 
feasting and revelry. This he did that the Sardian herald, 
seeing this store of provision, and the people living in 
plenty, might report it to Alyattes. And so it happened : 
for the herald, having witnessed this scene, and delivered 
the message of the Lydian to Thrasybulus, returned to 
Sardis, and, as I have been informed, the report he gave 
was the real and only cause of the peace that ensued : for 
Alyattes, who had supposed that a famine prevailed at 
Miletus, and that the people were reduced to the utmost 
wretchedness, was quite taken by surprise on hearing from 
the herald an account so different. A peace, therefore, 

(22) 



THE LYDIAN KINGDOM. 9 

was soon afterwards concluded, binding the parties to 
friendship and mutual support. Alyattes built two tem- 
ples to Minerva, at Assesus, in place of the one destroyed ; 
and recovered his health. Thus terminated the war be- 
tween Alyattes and Thrasybulus. 

[This Periander, son of Cypselus, who informed Thrasy- 
bulus of the answer of the oracle, was, as we have said, tyrant 
of Corinth ; and the Corinthians give an account, confirmed 
by the Lesbians, of a most extraordinary occurrence which 
fell under his notice. — I mean the arrival of Arion, the Me- 
thymnian at Taenarus, borne by a dolphin. Arion was un- 
rivalled in his time as a performer on the harp ; and the first, 
so far as we know, who composed dithyrambics, and taught 
them at Corinth. This Arion having, as they relate, passed 
some time with Periander, sailed for Italy and Sicily, whence, 
when he had accumulated a large fortune, he wished to 
return to Corinth. At Tarentum, he hired a Corinthian 
vessel ; for he had not so much confidence in any people as in 
the Corinthians. But the crew, as soon as the vessel was 
well out at sea, formed the design of throwing him overboard, 
that they might seize his treasures. As soon as he knew 
their purpose, he had recourse to entreaties, offering them all 
his money if they would only spare his life : but the sailors," 
unmoved by his prayers, offered him no other alternative 
but that of killing himself, in which case they would bury him 
on shore, or of casting himself instantly into the sea. Re- 
duced to this extremity, Arion asked that he might be per- 
mitted to clothe himself in his attire ; and, standing on the 
quarter deck, to sing ; promising that when he had finished 
he would destroy himself. The sailors pleased to hear the 
most celebrated performer of the age, retired to the lower 
deck : he then, putting on all his vestments, and taking his 
harp, and standing upon the farthest part of the stern, per- 
formed the Orthian ode : the moment he concluded, he threw 
himself with all his rich vestments into the sea. The crew 
continued their course to Corinth ; but Arion, as the story 
goes, was received on the back of a dolphin, and carried to 
(24) 



10 HISTORY OF CROESUS. 

Thenar us, and having gained the land, proceeded in the same 
vestments to Corinth, where he narrated what had happened. 
Periander not giving credit to this tale, held Arion in close 
custody, and meanwhile watched for the sailors. When they 
arrived at Corinth, calling them before him, he inquired whe- 
ther they had any thing to relate concerning Arion, to which 
they replied that they had left him well and prosperous at 
Tarentum in Italy. — Just as they spoke, Arion, clad in the 
very dress in which he had cast himself into the sea, appeared 
before them : — they, confounded, could no longer deny their 
guilt. Such is the story related both by the Corinthians and 
the Lesbians ; and there is at Taenarus a small brazen statue, 
dedicated by Arion, which represents a man seated on a 
dolphin.] 

b 5 ' 6 q' Alyattes the Lydian, some time after the termination 

of the Milesian war, died, having reigned fifty-seven years. 
He was the second of his family that sent offerings to 
Delphi, where, on his recovery from sickness, he dedi- 
cated a large silver vase, with an inlaid iron salver. This 
is one of the most curious of all the gifts at Delphi : — it 
was the work of Glaucus the Chian, who invented this 
method of inlaying iron. 



SECTION II. 

HISTORY OF CRffiSUS. 

Croesus, son of Alyattes, succeeded to the kingdom in 
the thirty-fifth year of his age. The Ephesians were the 
first of the Greeks against whom he turned his arms. It 
was on this occasion, while besieged by him, that the 
Ephesians devoted their city to Diana — stretching a cord 
from her temple, which stood at the distance of seven 
stadia,* to the walls of the old city. After reducing the 

* See Note. 

(26) 



HISTORY OF CRffiSUS. 11 

Ephesians, he attacked in turn all the states of Ionia and 
iEolia — some on one pretext, some on another ; — alledging 
plausible grounds of quarrel where he could find such, 
and the most frivolous if no better could be produced. 
Having therefore subdued all the Greeks of Asia, and 
obliged them to pay tribute, he formed the design of con- 
structing a fleet for the purpose of attacking the islanders. 
But while these preparations were in progress, Bias of 
Priene, or as some say, Pittacus of Mitylene, arrived at 
Sardis, and when asked by Croesus what news there might 
be from Greece, gave an answer which prevented the 
completion of the naval armament ; for he thus spoke : — 
"The islanders, O king, are collecting a body of ten 
thousand horse, with which to attack you at Sardis." 
" May the gods," replied Croesus — credulous with hope, 
" put it into the hearts of the islanders to attack the sons 
of the Lydians with horse !" To which Bias replied, 
" You have great reason, O king, for so earnestly wishing 
to catch the islanders on horseback, on the continent ; 
and do you imagine that they were less pleased when they 
heard that you were building a fleet to invade them, by 
which means they might meet the Lydians on the seas, 
and avenge the cause of the continental Greeks, whom you 
have subjugated?" Croesus was both pleased with this 
reply, and convinced by the inference it contained ; and 
in consequence, not only desisted from his naval pre- 
parations, but concluded a treaty with the Ionians of the 
islands. 

In the course of time Croesus subdued all the nations 
inhabiting the countries within the river Halys, except 
the Cilicians and the Lycians. These nations were the 
Lydians, Phrygians, Mysians, Mariandinians, Chalybians, 
Paphlagonians, Thracians — as well the Thynians as the 
Bythynians, the Carians, Ionians, Dorians, iEolians, and 
Pamphylians. These conquests, and the acquisitions made 
by Croesus to the Lydian kingdom, raised Sardis to the 
(29) 



12 HISTORY OF CRCESUS. 

most flourishing condition ; and it became the resort of 
all those Grecian sages who were able to visit it. Among 
these was Solon the Athenian, who, having at the request 
of his countrymen, digested a code of laws for them, 
exiled himself for ten years ; alleging, when he set sail, 
that he wished to see the world. But his real motive was, 
that he might not be called upon to alter any of his laws, 
which none of the Athenians could do ; for they were 
bound by a solemn oath to observe his institutions during 
that term. Solon travelling therefore for these real and 
professed reasons, first visited Amasis, king of Egypt, and 
afterwards came to Sardis, where he was entertained by 
Croesus in the palace. After three or four days, the 
king's officers, at the command of their master, conducted 
Solon through the treasuries, exhibiting to him all the 
wealth they contained. When he had inspected all, and 
had witnessed the perfect adaptation of every arrange- 
ment to the king's convenience, he was thus addressed by 
Croesus : — " Athenian friend, the fame of your wisdom, 
and of the travels you have undertaken for the enlarge- 
ment of your knowledge has reached us ; and I now wish 
to hear whom, of all the men you have seen, you consider 
as the most happy." This question he put, hoping to hear 
himself named as the happiest of men. But Solon, with- 
out flattery, and regardful only of truth, replied, " Tellus, 
the Athenian :" Croesus, surprised at this answer, eagerly 
inquired on what account he judged this Tellus to be the 
happiest of men. "Tellus," replied Solon, "saw his 
country flourish — he had sons and grandsons, robust and 
virtuous, who all survived him ; and having lived thus 
prosperously, according to our notions, he finished his 
course gloriously ; for in a battle between the Athenians 
and their neighbours at JUleusis, after aiding to defeat the 
enemy, he died bravely, and was buried on the spot by the 
Athenians, at the public cost, and his memory has been 
held in honour." 

(30) 



HISTORY OF CRCESUS. 13 

On hearing this account of the felicity of Tellus, 
Croesus, not doubting that he should hold at least the 
second place after the Athenian, asked who might be next 
to Tellus, the happiest of men. " Cleobis and Biton," 
replied Solon; "they were Argives, enjoying a competent 
fortune, and endowed with such strength of body, that 
both obtained the prize in the athletic games. Besides 
which, it is related of them, that, on the occasion of a fes- 
tival of Juno, celebrated by the Argives, at which their 
mother was to be present, it happened that the oxen that 
were to have drawn her carriage to the temple were 
delayed in the field beyond the appointed hour : the young 
men, therefore, urged by the necessity of the moment, 
yoked themselves to the carriage, and drew their mother 
a distance of five and forty stadia, to the temple. This 
action, witnessed by the assembly, was worthily concluded ; 
and in the instance of these youths, the deity signified that 
it is better for a man to die than to live. As the citizens 
who thronged the place admired the vigour of the youths, 
and the women blessed the mother who had such sons, 
she, delighted with the action and the praise — standing 
before the image, (of the goddess) prayed that her sons, 
Cleobis and Biton, might, for this dutiful service, receive 
that which was best for man. Having uttered this 
prayer, the sacrifice and feast were celebrated ; after 
which, the two young men fell asleep in the temple, and 
rose no more. The Argives thinking them the best of 
men, dedicated their statues at Delphi." To these, 
therefore, Solon attributed the second place of felicity. 
But Croesus, now irritated, exclaimed, " Athenian ! dost 
thou then so contemn our felicity, as not to account us 
equal even to these humble individuals?" "O Croesus," 
answered Solon, "You have put this question, which in- 
volves the true condition of man on the earth, to one who 
knows full well that the divinity* is envious and changeful : 
* Or — fortune. 

(32) 



14 HISTORY OF CR03SUS. 

for in an extent of life there is much to be met with which 
opposes our wishes, and much to be suffered. If we fix 
the term of human life at seventy years, which we reckon 
to contain 26,250 days,* there is not one of these days the 
events of which are precisely the same as those of another. 
— How liable, therefore, O Croesus, is man to misfortune ! 
I see you indeed possessed of immense wealth, and the 
king of many people ; but I cannot answer your question 
till I shall have learned that you have finished your course 
prosperously : for the rich is not happier than he who pos- 
sesses only his daily bread, unless it happens to him to end 
his life well. And, in fact, we see that many of the 
wealthiest are the most unhappy ; while those whose lot is 
humble, are truly fortunate. The unhappy rich excel the 
happy poor in two things only— but the latter may excel 
the former in many. — The rich may gratify various desires, 
and may sustain, without injury, many losses. But the 
poor, besides that he has little to lose, may enjoy many 
blessings — he may possess sound health, and strength, and 
personal advantages, may be exempt from calamities, may 
be blessed in his. children ; and if to these felicities be 
added a desirable death, we have then the man you seek, 
and one worthy to be called — happy : — before his death, 
we may say of a man that he is fortunate; but must 
delay to call him happy." " Yet even this happiness is 
only comparative ; for, as no country contains every ad- 
vantage, but wants something in which others abound, so 
neither does the lot of any one comprise every possible 
good; but if distinguished in some respects, is deficient 
in others. By the term a happy man, we mean one, who, 
after enjoying a greater number of these goods than 
others, finishes his course well. Such, O Croesus, is my 
judgment. But we must ever look to the end of things; 

* An involved, and probably corrupted, computation of tbe number 
of days in the life of man is here introduced, of which I think it sufficient 
to give the substance. 

(32) 



HISTORY OF CRffiSUS. 15 

for often it happens that God, after showing prosperity to 
a man, visits him with a complete reverse." 

On hearing this discourse, Croesus dismissed Solon 
without thanks or respect, considering him as a man of 
rude understanding, who, disregarding present advantages, 
would look at nothing but the future. 

After the departure of Solon, Croesus received a severe 
rebuke of divine vengeance as a reproof, it may be sup- 
posed, of his presumption, in thinking himself the happiest 
of men. The disaster which was about to .fall upon his 
son was indicated to him, some time before it happened, 
in a dream. .Croesus had two sons, one of whom was ren- 
dered incapable by being dumb ; but the other, named 
Atys, excelled those of his age in every accomplishment. 
It was this son of whom Croesus dreamed that he was to 
perish by the stroke of a dart. / Reflecting upon this 
dream, and terrified by its import, he sought a wife for his 
son, and no more sent him out, as he was wont, at the 
head of the army: and he caused all darts, spears, and 
weapons of every kind to be removed from the public 
halls, and laid up in the armouries, lest they should fall upon 
the youth. While the nuptials of his son were celebrating 
there arrived at Sardis an unfortunate Phrygian, of royal 
birth, charged with a crime, from which, presenting him- 
self at the palace, he entreated Croesus to absolve him, 
according to the rights of the country. This request 
Croesus complied with ; — the rites of absolution are nearly 
the same among the Lydians as among the Greeks. 
Having done so, Croesus inquired of the stranger who he 
was — from what part of Phrygia he came thus as a sup- 
pliant, and what man or woman he had slain. To which 
he replied ; — " O king, I am the son of Gordius, and the 
grandson of Midas : — my name is Adrastus : unintention- 
ally I killed my brother, and I come here, banished and 
deprived of every thing by my father." " You are then," 
said Croesus, "the offspring of my friends; and you come 
(35) 



J6 HISTORY OF CR(ESUS. 

to friends : — while you stay here, you shall want nothing'. 
As for this misfortune, bear it as lightly as you can, and 
you will be no loser." Adrastus therefore was entertained 
in the palace of Croesus. 

About the same time it happened that a boar of extra- 
ordinary size infested Mount Olympus in Mysia, and sally- 
ing from his retreat wasted the labours of the Mysians ; 
who often going out against him, received more injury 
from him than they were able to inflict in return. At 
length the ' Mysians sent messengers to Croesus, who thus 
spoke : — " O king, a boar of prodigious size has appeared 
in our country, which ravages our fields, and which, with 
our utmost endeavours, we are unable to take ; we beseech 
you, therefore, to send your son, with his choice band of 
youths and dogs, that we may expel him from the coun- 
try." Thus they prayed. But Croesus, remembering the 
import of his dream, replied, " Mention my son no more ; 
for I will not send him with you ; — besides, he is but just 
married. I will, however, send with you a select band 
of Lydians, and the whole hunting pack ; and I will 
charge them as they go, to use their utmost diligence in 
aiding you to drive the beast from the country." As the 
Mysian messengers retired with this answer, the son of 
Croesus entered ; and being informed of their request, 
and of his father's refusal, thus addressed the king : " O 
my father, once it was my pride and pleasure to win glory 
in war, and in hunting ; but now you shut me up from 
both ; though you have seen in me neither fear nor slug- 
gishness : and now how can I show myself in public ? 
what must I seem to be to the citizens? how must I 
appear in the eyes of my young wife ? or what sort of 
man will she think herself joined to ? Therefore either 
suffer me to go out against this beast, or convince me that 
you do better in thus restraining me." 

" My son," replied Croesus, " it is not because I have 
seen cowardice or any other fault in you, that I thus act ; 

(38) 



HISTORY OF CRCESUS. 17 

but I am influenced by a dream, in which it was declared 
to me, that you had but a short time to live, and that you 
were to perish by an iron weapon. Therefore it is that I 
have bound you in matrimony ; and therefore that I do 
not send you in these expeditions — watching over you, if 
by any means I may, at least during- my life, withdraw 
you from danger. And are you not my only son ? for my 
other son, deprived of hearing, is to me as if he were 
not." " \es," said the youth, " I complain not of your 
watchfulness, after the vision you have seen ; but I must 
remind you of what you have failed to perceive in the 
import of the dream, which you say declared that I should 
perish by a weapon of iron : but what weapons, or what 
hands to wield them, has a boar? Why then do you 
fear? If it had been said by a tooth, or such like thing, 
then you would have done well to have kept me at home. 
But you may safely send me now, when it is not with men 
that we are to fight." " You have convinced me," said 
Croesus, " of the meaning of the dream; — I change 
my purpose, and consent to send you to the field." He 
then sent for Adrastus the Phrygian, whom he thus 
addressed : " Adrastus, when you were oppressed with 
ills, with which I do not reproach you, I absolved you : — I 
gave you a home and maintenance : — you owe me there- 
fore a return of kindness ; and I pray you become the 
guardian of my son in this expedition, in case robbers 
should attack you by the way. You will besides have 
opportunity to distinguish yourself in a manner becoming 
your family and your personal valour." To this Adrastus 
replied, " I should not, O king, willingly have joined an 
expedition of this sort; for it is not seemly for one, 
loaded as I am with calamity, to mix and vie with the 
happy; and hitherto I have secluded myself; but since 
you demand my services, which indeed I owe you, I am 
ready to do* what you require. Expect, therefore, the 
(42) c 



18 HISTORY OF CRCESUS. 

safe return of your son, whom you commit to me, if my 
watchfulness can preserve him." 

The party of huntsmen set out therefore with their 
dogs, and arriving at Mount Olympus, sought and found 
the boar ; and as they all surrounded the beast, throwing; 
their lances at him, it happened that Adrastus, the un- 
fortunate Phrygian, throwing also his weapon, missed his 
aim, and struck the son of Croesus. This stroke of the 
lance-head fulfilled the dream. — A messenger ran to 
Sardis, and announced to Croesus the fight and the death 
of his son. Croesus distracted by the death of his son, 
which was the more grievous to him because inflicted by 
the man whom he had absolved, bitterly lamented his 
calamity, and invoked Jupiter the Expiator, declaring 
the wrong he had suffered from this stranger. He invoked 
also the same deity as the god of hospitality and friendship ; 
inasmuch as the man whom he had unwittingly entertained, 
and to whom he had committed his son, was now the mur- 
derer of his son, and his worst enemy. 

The Lydians now arrived, bearing the dead body, and 
followed by the homicide ; who, standing by the corpse, 
and extending his hands, delivered himself up to Croesus, 
and intreated that he might be killed upon the body; 
declaring, that having forfeited his first absolution by a 
second misfortune, he ought no longer to live. But 
Croesus, touched with compassion, though suffering under 
so heavy a domestic affliction, thus addressed him: — 
" Stranger, I have every right to vengeance, since you 
have condemned yourself to death; yet, except as the 
unwilling cause, you are not the author of this calamity ; 
but some god, who announced to me the coming evil." 
Croesus then interred his son with due honours. But 
Adrastus, son of Gordius, and grandson of Midas, the 
slayer of his own brother, and of (the son of) his expiator, 
went in the dead of night to the sepulchre, and deeming 

(45) 



CR(ESUS CONSULTS THE ORACLES. 19 

himself to be of all men he had known, by far the most 
miserable, killed himself upon the grave. During two 
years, Croesus remained in the deepest grief for the loss 
of his son. 



SECTION III. 

CRCESUS CONSULTS THE ORACLES. 

At the expiration of that time the grief of Croesus was 
diverted, and his thoughts occupied by the growing pros- 
perity of the Persians, under Cyrus, son of Cambyses, 
who had overthrown the government of Astyages, son of 
Cyaxares. Croesus meditated the means of checking this 
growing power, before it should be still farther augmented ; 
and while forming this design, he resolved to consult the 
oracles of Greece, as well as that of Libya. He des- 
patched his messengers, therefore, some to Delphi, some 
to Abas of the Phocians, some to Dodona ; he also sent 
messengers to the oracle of Amphiaraus, to that of Tro- 
phonius, and to the temple of Branchus, near Miletus : — 
these were the Grecian oracles consulted by Croesus. 
He sent also to the Libyan Amnion. His first object 
was to try these oracles, and then, if he found their 
answers true; to inquire whether he should attack the 
Persians. When he despatched these messengers, he 
directed them to reckon a hundred days from the time of 
their leaving Sardis; and all on the hundredth day to 
put this .question to the several oracles: " What may 
Croesus, son of Alyattes, king of the Lydians, now be 
doing V and to bring back the answers in writing. The 
answers of the other oracles are not recorded ; but when 
(47) ' c 2 



. 20 CRQ5SUS CONSULTS THE ORACLES. 

the Lydian messengers entered the temple at Delphi, and 
put to the god the question enjoined them, the Pythian 
thus replied in hexameters : — • 

The seas I measure, and the sands compute; 
And know the purpose of the dumb and mute. 
E'en now my sense enhales commingled fumes — 
A lamb and tortoise which the heat consumes. 
A brazen cauldron holds the boiling mass; 
And o'er the whole is placed a lid of brass. 

This answer was brought back to Crcesus, who, when the 
other messengers had arrived, examined all together ; some 
he disregarded; but when he heard that brought from 
Delphi, he adored and confessed its truth ; and esteemed 
the answer of the Delphic oracle, which had discovered 
his employment at the time, to be the only one divinely 
inspired ; for on the appointed day, after the departure 
of the messengers, he devised an employment which he 
thought the most improbable, and the least easily guessed 
that could be imagined : — he cut up together and cooked 
a tortoise and a lamb, in a brazen cauldron covered with 
a lid of brass. So much for the answer of the Delphic 
oracle. What was the response obtained by the Lydians 
who consulted, with the due forms, the oracle of Am- 
phiaraus, I know not ; but it is said to have been acknow- 
ledged by Croesus not to be false.* 

After this, Croesus sought to propitiate the Delphic 
god by immense sacrifices ; for he offered three thousand 
head of cattle of each kind proper to this god. He also 
raised a vast pile, consisting of couches embossed with 
gold and silver, golden goblets, and vestments, and cloaks 
of purple, which were all given to the flames — hoping by 
these means to win the god to his interests : — he moreover 

a^evcec — probably so expressed in general, comprehensive terms, 
as might seem not contradictory to the fact; and yet so vague as not to 
allow it to be compared with the Delphic answer. 

(50) 



CROESUS CONSULTS THE ORACLES. 21 

commanded all the Lydians to offer whatever they seve- 
rally possessed, proper for the purpose. 

[After the sacrifices, a great quantity of gold having been 
melted, he ordered it to be coined into a hundred and seven- 
teen semi-plates, each a palm in thickness, six palms in 
length, and three in width : four of these were of refined 
gold, and weighed each two talents and a half : the rest of 
pale gold, weighing two talents. He also caused a lion of 
pure gold to be made of ten talents' weight. This lion, when 
the temple of Delphi was burned, fell from the semi-plates on 
which it rested, and now lies in the Corinthian cell, having 
lost in the flames, three talents and a half of its weight. 
With these offerings, Croesus sent also two large goblets, (or 
cisterns,) the one of gold,* the other of silver,! of which the 
first was placed on the right hand, and the other on the left, 
as one enters the temple ; but these also were moved after the 
fire, the golden goblet being placed in the Clazomenian cell ; 
the silver goblet stands in a corner of the vestibule, and is 
used for mixing wine by the Delphians in the Theophanian 
festival. These goblets are affirmed, and I think with truth, 
by the Delphians, to be the work of Theodorus, the Samian ; 
for the workmanship is of no ordinary kind. He sent also 
four silver tubs, now standing in the Corinthian cell ; — and 
two basins, one of gold, the other of silver, for the lustral 
water. That of gold bears an inscription, purporting that it 
was the offering of the Lacedaemonians ; but this is not true, 
for it was engraved upon the basin to gratify the Lacedaemo- 
nians, by a certain Delphian, whose name, though known to 
me, I conceal. But the boy, from whose hand the water 
flows, was the gift of the Lacedaemonians. Many other 
articles of less note were sent by Croesus ; among which were 
some round silver plates, and a female figure, three cubits 
high, said to be that of his pastry-cook. He also presented 
his wife's necklaces and girdles. To the temple of Amphia- 

* Weighing 85 talents, and 12 minas. 
t Of which the contents were 600 anaphoras. 

(52) c 3 



22 CRCESUS CONSULTS THE ORACLES. 

raus, of whose virtue and sufferings he had heard,* Croesus 
sent a shield of gold, and a spear— head and shaft all of 
gold : these gifts were in my time to be seen at Thebes, in the 
temple of the Ismenian Apollo.] 

The Lydians charged to convey the gifts above-men- 
tioned, were instructed by Croesus to inquire of the 
^oracles, whether he should make war upon the Persians ; 
and whether he should employ auxiliaries. When, there- 
fore, the messengers had arrived, and had presented the 
offerings, they put this question to the oracles : " Croesus, 
king of the Lydians, and of other nations, esteeming 
these to be the only true oracles among men, has sent 
presents worthy of the discovery you made; and now 
inquires whether he shall make war upon the Persians, 
and whether he shall join foreign forces to his own." The 
two oracles gave a like answer— both predicting, that if 
Croesus attacked the Persians, he would dissolve a great 
power ; and advising him to seek the friendship of the 
most powerful of the Greeks. 

Delighted with these answers of the oracles, Croesus 
indulged the confident hope that he should overthrow 
the kingdom of Cyrus. He sent again to Delphi, and 
having informed himself of the number of the Delphians, 
he bestowed upon each of them two staters of gold. In 
return, the Delphians conferred upon Croesus and upon 
the Lydians, for ever, a right of precedence in inquiring 
at the oracle — immunity from tribute — the chief seats in 
the temple, and the liberty of citizenship to whosoever of 
them wished to take up that privilege. After having 
thus gratified the Delphians, Croesus now fully persuaded 
of the veracity of the oracle, was fain to satiate himself 
with it; and sent to consult it a third time. On this 
occasion his inquiry was, " Whether he should hold the 

* Sec Note. 

(55) 



CR03SUS CONSULTS THE ORACLES. 23 

monarchy long?" To this question the Pythian thus 
replied : — 

O Lydian, haste thy flight, what time a mule, 
With regal state, in Media's lands shall rule ; — 
O'er rocky Hermon flee; — nor stay for shame; 
But life accept^ and take a coward's name. 

With these verses Croesus was more pleased than with 
the others ; for he did not imagine that a mule would 
ever reign over the Medes ; and supposed, therefore, that 
neither he nor his posterity would ever lose the dominion. 
He next inquired which of the states of Greece were 
the most powerful, in order that he might form an alliance 
with them ; and found that the Lacedaemonians and Athe- 
nians still held, as they had long held, the highest rank. 



SECTION IV. 

A DIGRESSION,^ RELATING TO EARLY GRECIAN 
HISTORY. 

[The Lacedaemonians were of the Doric, the Athenians of 
the Ionic race, formerly called Pelasgians and Hellenians, 
of whom the former had never migrated, the latter often. 
For in the time of king Deucalion) the Hellenians inha- 
bited the region of Phthiotis ; but under the reign of Dorus, 
son of Hellenus, they possessed the country called Histiaeotis, 
beneath Ossa and Olympus ; from which being driven by the 
Cadmaeans, they dwelt near mount Pindus: thence they 
passed to Dryopis, and afterwards entered the Peloponnesus, 
were they were called Dorians. What language the Pelas- 
gians spoke, I cannot certainly determine ; but if a conjecture 
were hazarded, one should conclude that it was a barbarous 
(foreign) tongue. This opinion is supported by the fact, that 
the remains of the Pelasgians who inhabit Cretona, a city 
beyond the Tynhenians (or Thermaeans) and who formerly 
(57) c 4 



24 PISISTRATUS. 

were neighbours to the Dorians, inhabiting the country now 
called Thessaliotis, speak a language altogether different 
from that of any of the surrounding people. The same may 
be said of those Pelasgians who founded the cities of Placia 
and Scylace on the Hellespont ; but who once lived with the 
Athenians; — and of the inhabitants also of other Pelasgian 
towns who have changed their name : — all these people speak 
the same language, which is unintelligible to their neighbours. 
If this conjecture be well founded, it will follow that the 
Athenians, who were of Pelasgian origin, lost their original 
language, and adopted that of the Hellenians, when they came 
among that people ; while the other Pelasgians have retained 
their dialect without alteration. The Hellenians have, in my 
opinion, always spoken the same language. Few and feeble 
when they separated themselves from the body of the Pelas- 
gians, they augmented their numbers and strength by incor- 
porating other tribes of Barbarians, which the Pelasgians not 
doing, have never increased. 

Of these two states, as Croesus was informed, that of the 
Athenians was then distracted under the tyranny of Pisis- 
tratus, son of Hippocrates. To Hippocrates, the father of 
Pisistratus, while, as a private person, he witnessed the 
Olympic games, there was presented a great prodigy. Having 
sacrificed, the cauldrons, filled with the flesh and water, boiled 
and overflowed without fire. Chilon the Lacedaemonian, 
being present, and observing the prodigy, advised Hippocrates 
either not to marry, or if he had a wife, to put her away ; or 
if he had a son, to disown him. But he rejected this advice ; 
and some time afterwards this Pisistratus was born to him, 
who, on the occasion of a contest between the Athenians of 
the coast, headed by Megacles, son of Alcmeon, and those of 
the plains, under the conduct of Lycurgus, son of Aristolaides, 
raised a third faction, with the view of seizing the supreme 
power. Having collected some seditious persons under pre- 
text of protecting the Highlanders, he practised the following 
stratagem: — He first wounded himself and his mules, and 
drove his car into the market place, as if he had just escaped 
from his enemies, who had attempted to destroy him on -his 

(59) 



PISISTRATUS. 25 

way into the country. He then entreated the people that a 
guard might be afforded him : — he had before gained their 
favour, by having captured Nisaea, in the war with the people 
of Megara. Thus deceived, the Athenians granted him a band 
of chosen men, armed with clubs instead of spears. With the 
aid of these attendants, he took possession of the citadel. This J£ C. 
gained, he ruled the Athenians ; yet he neither displaced the 
magistrates, nor changed the laws ; but guided the state in its 
wonted course with credit and success. 

Ere long, however, the factions of Megacles and that of 
Lycurgus uniting their efforts, expelled Pisistratus, before he 
had well established his sway in Athens. But those who had 
united against him soon disagreed among themselves : — at 
length Megacles, wearied with these disorders, proposed to 
Pisistratus to marry his daughter as the price of his restoration 
to the government. Pisistratus listening to this proposal, 
accepted the condition, and covenanted with Megacles. The 
two then devised a scheme for restoring Pisistratus, which to 
me seems in the last degree absurd. The Greeks have indeed 
always been distinguished from their barbarous neighbours by 
their intelligence and by their aversion to all senseless prac- 
tices; but this trick was played off upon the Athenians, who 
are regarded as the princes of wisdom among the Greeks. 
There was a woman of Poeania, named Phya, of great beauty, 
and wanting only three finger's breadth of being four cubits 
high. This woman, being habited in complete armour, and 
placed in a car ; and having been instructed to assume her 
most becoming ornaments and graces, they conducted into 
the city, preceded by heralds, who, on their entrance, were to 
make a proclamation to this effect : — ■" Receive, O Athenians, 
with good will Pisistratus, whom Minerva herself honours 
above all men, by leading him into her own Acropolis." This 
was repeated by those around; and presently the rumour 
spread through the town, that Minerva was leading back Pi- 
sistratus : — the citizens persuaded that the woman was the very 
divinity herself, adored her, and admitted the tyrant. 

Pisistratus being reinstated in the tyranny by the above- 
mentioned device, fulfilled his contract, by marrying the 
(61) 



26 PISISTRATUS. 

daughter of Megacles. But as he had sons grown up, and as 
the Alcraseonidse were held to be disgraced, he refused to live 
with his wife. Megacles provoked by this insult, reconciled 
himself with his former adversaries ; and Pisistratus, informed 
of the plot which was hatching against him, withdrew from 
Attica to Eretria, where he consulted with his sons- on the 
state of his affairs. In this council, the opinion of Hippias 
prevailed, who advised that the lost tyranny should be re- 
covered. They therefore collected forces from the cities which 
had formerly regarded them favourably. Among those who 
furnished them with money, the Thebans were the most 
liberal. To be brief, all was soon in readiness to effect their 
return : for a body of Argive mercenaries arrived from the 
Peloponnesus, and a Nasian, named Lygdamis, met them 
unsolicited with a supply of money and troops. Advancing 
therefore from Eretria, they returned to Attica in the eleventh 
year after their exile, and occupied the field of Marathon : 
here having encamped, they were presently joined by numbers 
of their former friends from the city and from the vicinity — 
persons for the most part who preferred a tyranny to liberty. 
By these accessions their forces were much increased. While 
Pisistratus was collecting supplies, and even after he possessed 
himself of Marathon, the Athenians took little notice of his 
movements ; but when they learned that he had left his station 
there, and was advancing towards the city, they determined to 
oppose his progress. With all their forces, therefore, they 
moved out to prevent his return. Meanwhile, Pisistratus and 
his followers, on their march from Marathon towards the city, 
came in sight of the enemy by the temple of the Pallenian 
Minerva, near to which he pitched his camp. There he was 
met by Amphilytus, an Acarnian, and vaticinator, who deli- 
vered to him, as from Heaven, the following verses : — 

" The throw is made — the net expanded wide: 
By night the tunnies to the snare shall glide." 

Thus divinely inspired he sang ; Pisistratus understanding 
the oracle, said he accepted the omen, and forthwith led his 
army against the enemy. The Athenian citizens were just 

(63) 



LYCURGUS. 27 

then dining, and from dinner were about to play at dice, or to 
sleep. Pisistratus therefore falling suddenly upon these put 
them to flight; and as they fled, adopted a well-imagined 
plan to prevent their rallying ; for setting his sons on horse- 
back, he directed them to overtake the fugitives, and in his 
name command them to be of good courage, and return, every 
one to his house. The Athenians yielding to his will, Pisis- 
tratus a third time established himself in the tyranny, now 
strengthened by the presence of many auxiliaries, and by re- 
sources drawn from the country itself, and from the river 
Strymon. The children of those Athenians who had the most 
resolutely resisted his return, he took as hostages, sending 
them to Naxos, which he had before subdued and placed 
under the administration of Lygdamis. After this, at the 
instigation of an oracle, he purified the island of Delos, com- 
manding all the graves that happened to be within sight of the 
temple to be opened, and the bodies to be removed, and car- 
ried to some other spot in the island. Thus reigned Pisistratus 
at Athens — many of the citizens having fallen in battle, while 
many, adhering to the Alcmeeonidse, abandoned their native 
land. Such was the account which Croesus received concern- 
ing the Athenians. 

The Lacedaemonians, as he was informed, having passed 
through great calamities, had just obtained the ascendency in 
a Avar with the Tegeans. The Spartans, while governed by 
Leon and Hegesicles, though in their other wars always suc- 
cessful, fought the Tegeans invariably with disadvantage. — In 
earlier times, they lived under laws worse in themselves than 
those of any other people of Greece, and such as separated them 
very much from their neighbours. But they at length ob- 
tained better institutions in the following manner : — Lycurgus, 
a man approved among the Spartans, coming to Delphi, was 
thus addressed by the Pythian the instant he entered the 
edifice : — 

Thou com'st Lycurgus, to my well-stored fane, 
Beloved of Jove, and all Olympus' train. — 
Doubtful if now a man or god I hail ; — 
Yes, yes, Lycurgus, more divine than frail ! 

(65) 



B.C. 

884. 



28 THE LACEDEMONIANS. 

There are persons indeed who affirm that the Pythian de- 
livered to him those laws and institutions which are now ob- 
served at Sparta. But the Lacedaemonians themselves relate, 
that Lycurgus, while tutor to the sons of his brother Leobotas, 
king of Sparta, brought them from Crete. As soon as he was 
constituted guardian (of his nephews) he changed all the laws, 
and took care that those framed by himself should not be 
transgressed. He next regulated military affairs, establishing 
the Enomatiae, the Triacades, and the Syssitia : he also insti- 
tuted the Ephori, and the senate. In this way the Lacedae- 
monians changed their laws for the better. Lycurgus, after 
his death, was. regarded as a divinity — a temple being erected 
to his honour. From this time, having a fertile and well- 
peopled country, they rapidly increased in power and wealth : 
and not long content with inactivity, and believing themselves 
to be superior to the Arcadians, they consulted the oracle of 
Delphi on the project of reducing all Arcadia. They were 
thus answered by the Pythian : — 

Ask ye Arcadia? — 'tis too much to give: 

Arcadia's many sons on acorns live, 

And will repulse you : — yet I grudge not all ; 

But grant thy foot on Tegea's plains to fall 

In merry dance. — To you I grant again, 

O'er her fair fields to stretch the measuring chain.* 

The Lacedaemonians receiving this response, abstained from 
attacking the other Arcadians, and invaded only the Tegeans, 
carrying with them many fetters, for relying upon the guileful 
answerf of the oracle, they believed themselves sure of subduing 
the Tegeans. But being vanquished in battle, those who were 
taken alive were bound with the fetters themselves had 
brought : and with the chain (or cord) of servitude, they mea- 
sured the fields of the Tegeans. These fetters were, in my 
remembrance, preserved at Tegea, where they were seen sus- 
pended in the temple of the CElean Minerva. Thus unfortunate 
were the Lacedaemonians in their former war with the Tegeans : 



axoivog— properly a cord, formed of twisted rushes. 
+ KijDCijXor — not sincere. 



(W) 



THE LACEDEMONIANS. 29 

— but in the time of Croesus, Ana:£andrides and Ariston, then 
reigning at Sparta, they obtained the mastery in the following 
manner : — Having hitherto always been beaten by the Tege- 
ans, they sent to inquire of the Delphic oracle " which of the 
gods they must propitiate in order to obtain a victory over the 
Tegeans." The Pythian replied this should happen when 
they had brought the bones of Orestes, son of Agamemnon to 
Sparta. Not being able by any means to discover the grave 
of Orestes, they sent messengers again to ask the god — Where 
Orestes was buried ? To this demand the Pythian replied— 

Within Arcadia is a level ground, 
O'er which two winds by narrow limits bound, 
Incessant strive. — There, forms to forms oppose; — 
Stroke follows stroke, by oft repeated blows. 
Beneath that teeming earth Orestes lies ; 
Possessed of him, Tegea's glory dies. 

After receiving this reply, the Lacedaemonians continued the 
search, but in vain, till it happened that the wished-for dis- 
covery was made by a Spartan, named Lichas — one of those 
called the benefactors — a title conferred every year upon five 
seniors in the cavalry : these persons being required in the 
first year after their discharge from the service, to perform the 
duty of state messengers. This Lichas then, partly by chance, 
and partly by sagacity, found at Tegea what was sought for. 
At this time, some intercourse being maintained between the 
Lacedaemonians and Tegeans, Lichas, entering a smith's shop 
at Tegea, and watching the workman, expressed his admi- 
ration at the performance ; upon which the smith, resting a 
moment from his toil, said, "Do you admire this? — You 
would wonder still more, Laconian stranger, were you to see 
what I have seen — for lately, while digging a well in this 
court, I met with a coffin, seven cubits long; and when, not 
believing that men were ever taller than they are now, I 
opened it, I found a body proportioned to the size of the 
coffin: — 1 measured it, and then restored it to its place." 
Lichas revolving this account in his mind, conjectured that this 
was the body of Orestes, of which the oracle had spoken ; for 
it seemed to him that the description agreed with the facts. — 
(68) 



30 CRCESUS MAKES WAR WITH CYRUS. 

The smith's double bellows produced the winds spoken of :— 
the anvil and hammer were the two opposed forms, and there 
was the stroke upon stroke— prefiguring also the mischiefs 
inflicted upon man by iron. With this idea, therefore, he 
returned to Sparta, and related the whole to the Lacedaemo- 
nians ; but they, on the ground of a pretended crime, con- 
demned him to banishment. He returning to Tegea, told his 
misfortune to the smith, from whom after some dispute, he 
hired the court, and forthwith digging up the coffin, collected 
the bones, with which he returned to Sparta :— from that time 
their attacks upon the Tegeans were always successful : — 
they had already subdued the greater part of the Pelo- 
ponnesus.] 



SECTION V. 

CROESUS MAKES WAR WITH CYRUS. — THE FALL OF 
SARDIS. 

Croesus having therefore informed himself of the con- 
dition of these two states, sent ambassadors to Sparta, 
bearing gifts, and instructed to propose a treaty of alliance 
in war. The message they were charged to deliver was 
as follows : — " We have been sent by Croesus, king of 
the Lydians, and of other nations, to say to you, Lace- 
daemonians, that he has been admonished by the god to 
form a Greek alliance ; and having learned that you are 
chief among the Greeks, he therefore invites you to friend- 
ship, and co-operation, without fraud or deceit." The 
Lacedaemonians, who had before heard of the answer 
given by the oracle to Croesus, were gratified by the 
arrival of the Lydians; and formed a solemn treaty of 
friendship and co-operation with him, who, indeed, had 

(69) 



CRCESUS MAKES WAR WITH CYRUS. 31. 

some time before conferred a favour upon them : for when 
they sent to Sardis to purchase gold for the statue of 
Apollo, which now stands on Mount Thorna, in Laconia, 
he made them a present of as much as they needed. On 
this account, therefore, and because he had preferred 
them to the other Greeks, they acceded to the alliance. 
And not only did they promise to grant the aid required 
of them, but they caused a brazen vessel, ornamented 
round the rim with a wreath of embossed figures, and 
capable of containing three hundred amphoras, to be 
formed, and sent as a present to Croesus ; — this vessel 
never reached Sardis ; for, as the Lacedaemonians affirm, 
while it was on the way, the Samians, hearing of its 
arrival near their island, despatched a ship of war, and 
seized it. But the Samians deny this, and affirm that the 
Lacedaemonians, who carried the cup, having been de- 
layed on the way till they heard that Sardis was taken, 
and Croesus in captivity, sold it in Samos, to some private 
persons, by whom it was consecrated in the temple of 
Juno : perhaps these Lacedaemonians, on their return to 
Sparta, declared that they had been robbed of the cup by 
the Samians.* 

Croesus, therefore, mistaking the meaning of the 
oracle, invaded Cappadocia, in the hope of overthrowing 
Cyrus, and the Persian power. While preparations were 
making for this Persian war, a certain Lydian, named 
Sandanis, at that time esteemed for his wisdom (and since 
his having given this advice still more celebrated) thus 
counselled Croesus : — " You are preparing, O king, to 
attack a people who wear leather trowsers, and, indeed, 
nothing on their backs but leather ; who eat, not what 
they would, but what they can get from their rough soil ; 
who drink, not wine, but water ; who have no figs, nor 
any other delicacies. If, then, you vanquish them, what 

* A theft that could be concealed was no crime at Sparta. 

(71) 



i 



32 TFIE LACEDAEMONIANS. 

can you take from those who possess nothing. But if you 
are vanquished, think what you cast away ! For when 
they shall have tasted our good things, they will hold them ; 
nor ever be driven back. As for me, I thank the gods 
who have not inspired the Persians with the desire to 
attack the Lydians !" But Croesus was not to be so. 
persuaded. It is true, that the Persians, before their 
conquest of Lydia, possessed nothing delicate or ex- 
cellent. 

The Cappadocians, by the Greeks called Syrians, were, 
before the establishment of the Persian power, subject to 
the Medes ; but, at this time, to Cyrus. The boundary 
between the kingdoms of Media and Lydia, was formed 
by the river Halys, which, rising in the mountains of 
Armenia, runs through Cilicia; after which it has the 
Matinians on the right, and the Phrygians on the left : 
passing by these, and turning towards the north, it divides 
Cappadocia from Paphlagonia. Thus this river includes 
nearly the whole of Lower Asia, from the sea of Cyprus 
to the Euxine ; and it runs across the neck, or narrowest 
part of Asia (Minor) where the distance (from sea to sea) 
is not more than may be passed over in five days by a 
swift traveller. 

Croesus was impelled to invade Cappadocia, partly by 
the wish to include that country within the bounds of his 
dominion ; but, encouraged by the oracle, he was chiefly 
instigated by the hope of avenging Astyages upon Cyrus. 
For Astyages, son of Cyaxares, king of the Medes, and 
brother-in-law of Croesus, had been vanquished, and was 
now held in captivity by Cyrus. [During the reign of 
Cyaxares, son of Phraortes, and grandson of Dejoces, a 
band of rebel Scythian Nomades took refuge in Media, 
and were favourably received by him ; and at length so 
much regarded, that some Median boys were committed to 
their care, to learn the Scythian language, and the use of 
the bow. After a time it happened that these Scythians, 

(74) 



CROESUS MAKES WAR WITH CYRUS. 33 

who when sent out to hunt had always hitherto been suc- 
cessful, returned from the field without having taken any 
thing. Cyaxares, who, as it appears, was of an angry temper, 
dismissed them contumeliously. They, resenting the in- 
dignity, resolved to take one of the youths committed to 
their care, and cutting him up, to prepare the flesh as 
they were accustomed to cook their game, and to send it 
as such to Cyaxares, and then instantly to seek protection 
from Alyattes, at Sardis. This, they effected, and Cy- 
axares, with his guests, partook of the flesh, while the 
Scythians escaped. Alyattes refusing to surrender the 
Scythians to the demand of Cyaxares, war was com- 
menced, and carried on during five years between the 
Lydians and the Medes with various fortune ; once in this 
war, a battle was fought by night. In the sixth year of 
the war, the advantages being evenly balanced, it hap- 
pened that while the two armies were hotly engaged, the 
day suddenly became dark. This change of day into B.C. 
night had been foretold to the lonians by Thales the 
Milesian, who had named the year in which it would 
take place.* Both Lydians and Medes seeing this change 
of day to night, desisted from fighting, and both became 
desirous of peace. This was effected by the invention of 
Syenuesis, king of Cilicia, and of Labynetus, king of 
Babylon, who urged the conciliation, and proposed a 
matrimonial alliance ; for without the bond of some firm 
necessity, conventions are not often permanent; and it 
was arranged that Alyattes should give his daughter, 
Aryenis, in marriage to Astyages, son of Cyaxeres. 
Oaths of alliance are taken among these nations in the 
same manner as among the Greeks ; with this addition, 
that they cut the skin of their arms, and lick each other's 
blood. 

Cyrus therefore, as I shall hereafter more fully narrate, 

* See Note. « 

(75) d 



585. 



34 CRCE9US MAKES WAR WITH CYRUS. 

having vanquished and detained in captivity Astyages, 
his maternal grandfather, hereby afforded to Croesus a 
ground of quarrel, who, sending as we have said, to 
Delphi, received the ambiguous answer which he confi- 
dently interpreted in his own favour, and so invaded the 
Persian territory. 

Arriving at the river Halys, Croesus transported his army 
by bridges, then existing ; — this, at least, is my opinion. 
But the current report among the Greeks is, that while 
Croesus deliberated on the means of passing the river, 
(there being, as they say, no bridges at that time,) Thales 
the Milesian, who was then in the camp, effected the 
passage by diverting the stream from its course, on the 
left hand of the army, and causing it to flow on the 
right, through a deep canal which he led in a semicircular 
form behind the camp ; so that the waters being divided, 
were easily fordable on both sides. Some say that the 
old channel was left entirely dry ; but if so, how did the 
army pass the stream on its return ? 

Croesus advancing with his army, arrived in the part 
of Cappadocia, called Pteria, the most considerable 
district of that country, bordering upon Sinope, a city 
near the Euxine : here he pitched his camp, and ravaged 
the lands of the Syrians, whom, without any pretext, he 
expelled from their homes ; he took also the city of the 
Pterians, as well as all the neighbouring towns, and re- 
duced the inhabitants to slavery. 

Meanwhile Cyrus, assembling his army, and leading 
with him all the forces of the countries through which 
he passed, advanced to oppose Croesus. But before he 
pushed his army forward, he sent heralds to the Ionians, 
urging them to revolt from Croesus. But the Ionians, 
refused to comply with this request. Cyrus, however, 
came up, opposing his camp to that of Croesus ; and in 
the Pterian territory, the two armies essayed their utmost 
strength in several skirmishes : at length a sharp conflict 

(76) 



CRCESUS MAKES WAR WITH CYRUS. 35 

took place, in which great slaughter was sustained on B.C. 
both sides; but night ended the battle, before either 
party had obtained any decided advantage. 

Croesus now thinking his army, (which was found to be 
much inferior in numbers to that of Cyrus,) too small, and per- 
ceiving on the next day that Cyrus did not attempt to follow 
him, set out for Sardis, intending to require the Egyptians 
to fulfil their covenant ; for he had contracted an alliance of 
mutual support with Amasis, king of Egypt, before that 
which he formed with the Lacedaemonians. He resolved, 
at the same time, to send to the Babylonians, with whom 
he had formed a league, and who were then governed by 
Labynetus, to ask their aid, and to summons the Lacedae- 
monians also, to be ready at the appointed time. With 
these allies, and with his own collected forces, he proposed, 
early in the following spring, again to attack the Per- 
sians. Entertaining these designs, he arrived at Sardis, 
and despatched heralds to his allies, to require their 
attendance at the end of five months. He also dismissed 
the whole of his mercenaries, not imagining that Cyrus, 
with whom he had contended on such even terms, would 
advance upon Sardis. 

At this time, while Croesus was thus engaged, the 
whole district around the city was filled with serpents ; 
upon which the horses, ceasing to graze, followed and 
devoured them. This was regarded by Croesus, and 
justly, as a prodigy ; he therefore instantly despatched the 
sacred messengers, to consult the diviners of Telmessus ; 
but before they returned from the voyage, Croesus was in 
captivity. The reply of the Telmessian diviners was 
to this effect : that Croesus might expect a foreign army 
to invade his territory, who should subdue the natives ; — 
" for," said they, " serpents are the offspring of the 
earth; but the horse belongs to warfare, and transition." 
When the Telmessians gave this answer, Croesus was 

d 2 
(78) 



36 CR(ESUS MAKES WAR WITH CYRUS. 

vanquished ; but of what had taken place at Sardis, these 
diviners were then ignorant. 

Cyrus being informed of the retreat of Croesus, after 
the battle in Pteria, and of his design to disband his 
army, took the resolution of advancing with all speed 
towards Sardis, before the Lydian forces could be a 
second time collected. This plan was no sooner devised 
than put in execution ; and entering Lydia at the head 
of his army, he became the herald of his own arrival to 
Croesus. Croesus, in the perplexity produced by this 
unexpected position of his affairs, did not fail to lead the 
Lydians into the field — and no people of Asia, in that 
age, were more valiant or warlike than the Lydians. 
Their mode of fighting was on horseback, with long spears ; 
and they were accomplished horsemen. 

The Lydian army was drawn out upon an extended 
and bare plain, in front of the city. This plain is watered 
by several rivers, among which is the Hyllus ; this, with 
the others, joins the principal stream, called the Hermus, 
which, flowing from the mountain sacred to Cybele, 
empties itself into the sea, near Phocaea. When Cyrus 
saw them drawn up in order of battle, he feared to en- 
counter this body of cavalry, and by the advice of Har- 
pagus, a Mede, he had recourse to the following artifice. 
He collected all the camels employed in carrying the 
provisions and baggage of the army, and discharging 
them of their loads, set men upon them, accoutred as 
horsemen, and ordered them to take place in front of the 
army, opposite to the cavalry of Croesus ; behind the 
camels he placed his infantry ; and behind these the whole 
of his cavalry. He then commanded his men to give no 
quarter to any of the Lydians, except to Croesus, whom 
they were to spare, even if he should resist after being 
taken. The camels were placed in front for. this reason, 
that a horse is terrified at a camel, nor can endure either 



(80) 



CRCESUS MAKES WAR WITH CYRUS. 37 

the sight or smell of one. By this device, therefore, he 
hoped to render useless the cavalry of Croesus, on which 
the Lydian placed his chief dependence. As the armies 
approached each other, the horses snuffed the scent of the 
camels, saw them, and instantly turned about ; thus was 
the hope of Croesus dashed. Yet were not the Lydians 
dismayed ; but understanding the cause of what had 
happened, they dismounted, and engaged the Persians on 
foot ; a great slaughter took place on both sides, during a 
continued conflict. At length the Lydians gave way, and 
shutting themselves within their walls, were besieged by 
the Persians. 

Thus Sardis was invested, and Croesus, supposing that 
the siege would be of long duration, despatched other 
messengers from the* citadel, to summon his allies. His 
first messengers had required their attendance at Sardis in 
five months ; but now he besought their instant aid. 

Croesus sent among others, to the Lacedaemonians. 

[They were then engaged in a quarrel with the Argives, rela- 
tive to a place called Thyrea, of which, though it stood within 
the territories of the Argives, the Lacedaemonians had taken 
possession. For to the Argives belonged all the country west- 
ward to Malea, with the island of Cythera, and those adjoining. 
The Argives, advancing to defend their possessions, they were 
met by the Lacedaemonians, when a conference took place, and 
it was agreed — That three hundred men on both sides should 
fight, and that the place in question should be adjudged to 
the victors ; the rest of both armies retiring to their homes, 
that they might afford no aid to the combatants. This being- 
arranged, they severally retired ; leaving the selected number 
to engage. An equal fight was maintained, until three only 
of the six hundred remained — two Argives, named Alcenor 
and Chromius, and of the Lacedaemonians, Orthryacles. 
When night came on, the two Argives returned to Argos ; 
while Orthryades, plundering the bodies of the Argives, re- 
moved their arms to his camp, and i-emained upon the field. 
(82) d 3 



38 THE FALL OF SARDIS. 

The next day, when the result was known, the two armies 
approach, and both claim the victory : the Argives, because 
more of their party than of the other survived ; the Lacedae- 
monians, because the surviving Argives had fled, while their 
man stood his ground, and took the spoil of the enemy. At 
length they flew to arms, and after many had fallen on both 
sides, the Lacedaemonians prevailed. Since that time, the 
Argives, who before wore their hair long, kept it short ; 
having solemnly vowed that no Argive should let his hair 
grow, nor any woman wear gold, till Thyrea should be re- 
covered. The Lacedeemonians, on the contrary, who before 
cut their hair short, ordained that it should be suffered to 
grow. It is said that Orthryades, the sole survivor of the 
three hundred, ashamed to return to Sparta, killed himself at 
Thyrea. It was while these things were taking place at 
Sparta, that the Sardian ambassador arrived, intreating aid 
for Croesus, who was besieged. Notwithstanding the present 
state of their affairs, they listened to the ambassador, and 
made preparations to afford the help demanded. But just as 
all things were ready, and the fleet about to sail, another 
messenger arrived, announcing that Sardis was taken, and 
Croesus made captive. They therefore, after lamenting the 
misfortune of the king, desisted from the expedition.] 

Sardis was taken in the following manner : — the siege 
had lasted fourteen days, when Cyrus sent a horseman 
through his army, promising a reward to the man who 
should first mount the walls. After many had made the 
attempt without success, a Mardian, named Hyrseades, 
undertook to ascend the citadel, where the wall was 
unguarded ; for such was the steepness of this part of 
the fortification, that it was deemed absolutely impregna- 
ble. The Telmessians* had declared that if a lion were 

* The inhabitants of Telmessus, a town of Caria, who practised 
divination.— Herodotus calls this lion the son of Melesj by one of his 
women, whether he intends to affirm a prodigy, or only that the child's 
name was Lion, is doubted by the critics. 

(84) 



SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF CR02SUS. 39 

carried round the walls, Sardis would be impregnable. 
But Meles, a former king- of the Sardians, when he car- 
ried a lion round the walls, scorned to carry it round this 
part, which he thought an enemy could never ascend. 
This side of the citadel is opposite to Mount Tmolus. 
Hyraeades, the Mardian, had seen the preceding day a 
Lydian descend at this part to recover a helmet which 
had fallen over the wall, and having watched the manner 
of his ascent, he resolved to attempt the same ; this he 
effected, and being followed by many others, Sardis was 
taken and pillaged. 



SECTION VI. 

SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF CRCESUS. 

We must now pursue the history of Croesus : — he had 
as we have already mentioned, a son, who though in other 
respects not deficient, was dumb. During his prosperity, 
the father had used for his relief every means in his 
power; and among other things, bethought himself of 
sending to consult the oracle of Delphi. To his inquiries, 
the Pythian thus replied : — 

O man unwise, of Lydia's realms the king, 
Wish not his voice within thy halls to ring ! 
Better for thee that pleasure to forego ; — 
* The day he speaks, shall be a day of woe ! 

When the fortifications were taken, a Persian, not 
knowing Croesus, was about to kill him ; and he, seeing 
himself invaded, and not caring to survive his misfortunes, 
would have met the stroke of death. But his speechless 
(85) d 4 



40 SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OP CRCESUS. 

son, seeing the Persian approach, moved with fear and 
agony, cried out, " Man, kill not Croesus !" These were 
his first words ; and from that time forward he continued 
to speak. Thus was Sardis, after fourteen days' siege, 
taken by the Persians ; and Croesus, who had reigned as 
many years, became their captive ; and thus, according to 
the oracle, he put an end to a great empire — namely, 
his own. 

The Persians led Croesus before Cyrus, who having 
caused a great pile of wood to be raised, ordered his 
captive to be fettered and placed upon it ; and with him 
fourteen Lydian youths. This he did, either intending 
to offer a sacrifice to some god ; or to fulfil a vow ; or 
perhaps, having heard of the piety of Croesus, he wished 
to see if any one of the demons would save him from being 
burned alive. Croesus, as he stood upon the pile, not- 
withstanding his present misery, recollected the saying of 
Solon, as if spoken by a god — " That none of the living 
could be called happy." Revolving these words, he broke 
forth from his silence, and with a groan thrice pronounced 
the name of Solon. Cyrus hearing this, commanded the 
interpreters- to ask him who it was he invoked : — they 
approached and put the question ; he for some time kept 
silence ; but being urged, he said, — " A man, whose 
words I had rather all tyrants should hear, than myself 
possess the greatest treasures." This answer seeming 
obscure, he was again asked his meaning ; and to their 
continued importunity he at length replied, " That Solon, 
the Athenian, having formerly visited him, had viewed all 
his felicity with contempt; and that what he had then 
said was not only now verified, in his own case, but that 
it was equally true of all mankind ; and especially of those 
who think themselves more happy than other men." As 
Croesus thus spoke, the flames ascended around the pile : 
meanwhile Cyrus, having heard what Croesus had said, 
relented, and reflecting that he, a mere man, was corn- 
er 



SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF CROESUS. 41 

mitting to the flames, alive, a man who lately was not 
inferior to himself in felicity, fearing also the vengeance 
of Heaven, and recollecting, moreover, the instability of 
human affairs, commanded that, with all haste, the fire 
should be extinguished, and Croesus and those with him 
released. But those who endeavoured to execute this 
command were unable to quell the fire. 

Then, as the Lydians relate, Croesus being informed 
that Cyrus had relented, and seeing the men not yet able 
to vanquish the flames, cried out, invoking Apollo, whom 
he besought, if ever any of his gifts had been acceptable, 
now to appear, and deliver him from the impending misery. 
As thus with tears he invoked the god, suddenly a serene 
and tranquil sky was covered with clouds, and a tempest 
arising with vehement rain, the fire was quenched. Cyrus 
learning by this event that Croesus was a good man, and 
in favour- with Heaven, commanded him to be brought 
from the pile, and thus addressed him : — " Croesus, who 
persuaded you to invade my territory, making yourself 
my enemy, rather than friend?" To which he replied, 
" O king, this enterprise, so fortunate for you, so disas- 
trous to me, is attributable to the god of the Greeks, who 
incited me to make war. For who is so devoid of under- 
standing as (freely) to prefer war to peace, in which fa- 
thers bury their sons, instead of sons their fathers ; — but 
thus it pleased the gods to ordain." 

Cyrus releasing Croesus, seated him near himself, and 
with much observance, admired him, as did all who stood 
around. Meanwhile he, absorbed in thought, kept silence. 
At length, turning round, and seeing the Persians devas- 
tating the city of the Lydians, he said, " O king! shall I 
tell you what I think, or remain silent?" Cyrus com- 
manding him to take courage, and to speak freely, he 
went on; — "What is this crowd so eagerly doing?" 
— " Pillaging your city, and spoiling your treasures." — 
To which Crcesus replied, " Not my city— not my trea- 
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42 SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF CROESUS. 

sures do they spoil ; for these things are no longer mine ; 
but they are bearing off and driving away your's." Cyrus 
took the hint, and dismissing the attendants, asked him 
what he thought best to be done. " Since," said Croesus, 
" the gods have made me your slave, it is just, if I see 
any thing to your advantage, to point it out to you. The 
Persians, by nature impatient of controul, are yet unac- 
quainted with riches ; if you wink at their thus seizing 
and holding treasures, you have nothing to expect but 
that he who shall make himself the most rich, will excite 
seditions against you. Now, therefore, if it please you 
to follow my advice, place spearmen at all the gates, who 
shall tell those who are carrying away goods, that a tenth 
of all must be consecrated to Jupiter. Thus you will 
avoid being hated by them for seizing their plunder ; and 
they, believing you do only what is right, will cheerfully 
comply." 

Cyrus, well satisfied with this advice, gave orders to 
his attendants accordingly ; and then thus addressed 
Croesus : " Your words and actions are fitting a man of 
kingly dignity — ask what you would now most wish to 
be done." " O monarch," said he, " you will best please 
me by allowing me to send these fetters to the god of the 
Greeks, whom above all the gods I have honoured, and 
ask if it is his custom to deceive those who deserve best 
at his hands." Cyrus, wishing to know the reason of 
this taunting accusation, Croesus recounted to him fully 
all he had done, repeating the responses of the oracles, 
and mentioning especially the gifts he had made, and how, 
incited by the divine answer, he had attacked the Per- 
sians ; so saying, he again made his request, that he might 
be permitted to reproach the god with these things. 
Cyrus smiling, replied, " This, Croesus, you shall obtain 
of me ; and whatever else at any time you may ask." 
Croesus, therefore, having this permission, sent some 
Lydians to Delphi, instructing them to lay the fetters 

(90) 



SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF CRffiSUS. 43 

upon the threshold of the temple, and to demand, " if it 
were not a shame, by such responses, to have incited 
Croesus to make war upon the Persians, with the hope 
of overthrowing the power of Cyrus ; of which war these 
fetters were the first-fruits ?" Such was to be the demand ; 
and also, "if to be ungrateful were the custom of the 
Grecian gods?" 

When the Lydians arrived and delivered their message, 
the Pythian is said to have replied : " That even the god 
could not avert the decree of fate. That Croesus, the 
fifth in descent, suffered for the sin of his progenitor, 
who being a servant (spearman) of the Heraclidae, con- 
sented to the guile of the woman, and slew his master, 
taking possession, without right, of his place and honour. 
That yet Apollo had endeavoured to defer the fall of 
Sardis till the next generation ; but that he had not been 
able to move the fates, who would no further yield to his 
solicitation than, as a special favour to Croesus, to place 
the taking of Sardis three years later than otherwise it 
would have happened. " Let Croesus, therefore know, 
that he is a captive three years later than the fates had 
decreed," and then remember, that he had rescued him 
when about to be burned. As to the response, Croesus 
had no right to complain ; for Apollo had foretold that if 
he invaded the Persians, he would overthrow a great 
empire : and if upon this he had wished to be better in- 
formed, he should have inquired again, whether his own 
empire or that of Cyrus was intended. Wherefore, as 
he had neither understood the oracle, nor asked for its 
meaning, he might take the blame to himself. That 
neither had he understood the intimation given him by 
Apollo in what was said of the mule — for Cyrus was 
this mule, who was born of parents of different nations — 
and of a mother of the better condition, and a father of 
the worse ; — for she was a Mede, daughter of Astyages, 
king of the Medes ; but he a Persian, and therefore a 
(91) 



44 SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF CR<ESUS. 

subject of the Medes; an* though in all respects inferior, 
had married his mistress." In this way the Pythian re- 
plied to the Lydians, who returning to Sardis, reported 
the answer to Croesus ; and he, in hearing it, acknowledged 
himself to be in the wrong, and not the god. Such is the 
history of the Lydian empire, and of the first subjugation 
of Ionia. 

[Besides the gifts already ^mentioned, which Croesus sent 
into Greece,* there were others : for example, at Thebes, in 
Bceotia, there is a golden tripod,* dedicated by him to the 
Ismenian Apollo; at Ephesus, there are golden heifers, and 
many columns; then, in the Pronean temple, at Delphi, 
there is a large shield of gold — all which Were to be seen in 
my time ; many others have been lost, among which are the 
gifts he presented to the Branchidae, at Miletus, equal in 
weight, as I am told, and similar to those he sent to Delphi. 
The presents he dedicated at the temples of Delphi and 
Amphiaraus, were from his personal property, and the first- 
fruits, as it were, of his paternal possessions. The others 
were furnished from the treasures of an enemy, who before 
the accession of Croesus, endeavoured to place Pantaleon on 
the Lydian throne This Pantaleon was the son of Alyattes, 
and so the brother of Croesus, but not by the same mother ; 
for the latter was the son of a Carian, the former of an Ionian 
wife of Alyattes. When, by the appointment of his father, 
Croesus ascended the throne, he put his adversary to death 
by torture, and his goods, which before he had devoted to 
the gods, he consecrated in the manner and at the places 
above-mentioned. So much for these offerings.] 

Lydia contains little worthy of record beyond other 
-countries, if we except the gold dust which descends from 
Mount Tmolus. It possesses, however, one work of art, 
equalled only by the buildings of Egypt and Babylon; 

* Or to the Greeks — either iu Greece or the colonies. 

(93) 



CUSTOMS OF THE LYDIANS. 45 

this is the sepulchre of Alyattas, the father of Croesus ; 
the base of the sepulchre consists of immense stones, 
upon which is raised a tumulus of earth. The work was 
performed by hucksters, labourers, and girls of the lower 
cMer. There were standing in my time on the upper 
part of the sepulchre five pillars, upon which were en- 
graved an account of the work severally performed by 
each division ; and it appeared that the part executed by 
the women was the largest. The circumference of the 
monument measures six stadia, and two plethra; the 
width is thirteen plethra. Adjoining the sepulchre is a 
vast lake, named Gygean, and said by the Lydians to be 
inexhaustible. 

[The usages of the Lydians are similar to those of the 
Greeks, except that they have less regard to female virtue. 
They are the first people, so far as we know, who coined 
money of gold and silver ; and they also were the first shop- 
keepers. The Lydians, moreover, claim to be the inventors 
of the games, now known among themselves and the Greeks, 
and which were first practised when they established the 
Tyrrhenian colony, of which they give the following account. 
In the reign of Atys, son of Menes, there happened a great 
scarcity of corn throughout Lydia : for some time the people 
patiently endured the famine ; at length, as it was not re- 
lieved, they sought some remedy ; one proposing one scheme, 
another a different one. Among these devices, was the inven- 
tion of several games, such as cubes, bowls, dice, and many 
other sports ; to the invention of chess they do not pretend. 
With these pastimes they diverted their miseries— playing the 
whole of every alternate day, that they might not think of 
food : thus they passed eighteen years, and even then, the 
evil not abating, but being rather aggravated, the king 
divided his people into two parts, and cast lots for one part 
to stay at home, and for the other to quit the country ; him- 
self retaining the command of those whose lot it was to stay, 
and appointing his son, Tyrrhenus, king of those who were 
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4G THE ASSYRIANS AND MEDES. 

to remove. The exiles proceeded to Smyrna, where they 
constructed ships, and putting their effects on board, set sail 
in search of a living and a home ; after touching on several 
shores, they at length arrived at Umbria, where they built 
towns, and have ever since remained ; only changing t\,?. 
name of Lydians for that of Tyrrhenians. The Lydians, as 
we have seen, became subject to the Persians.] 



SECTION VII. 

EARLY HISTORY OF THE ASSYRIANS AND MEDES — 
DEJOCES — THE SCYTHIANS. 

We must now inquire who this Cyrus was, who van- 
quished Croesus ; and by what means the Persians became 
masters of Asia. And as there are some of the Persians 
who do not seem disposed to exaggerate the exploits of 
Cyrus ; but rather confine themselves to simple truth, I 
shall follow only the authority of such writers, though 
not ignorant that three distinct accounts of this personage 
are abroad.* 
From The Assyrians had ruled the Upper Asia during a 
1231 period of five hundred and twenty years, when the Medes, 
*° who were the first to rebel, revolted from them. This 
nation, in struggling with the Assyrians for their liberties, 
behaved like valiant men, and at length shaking off the 
yoke, established their freedom. Other nations afterwards 
followed the example of the Medes. 

These various nations, spread over the continent, for 
some time followed severally their own institutions ; but 
were at length again reduced under one tyranny ; which 

* See Note. 

(96) 



DEJOCES. 47 

happened in the following manner: — Among the Medes 
there was a sage, named Dejoces, son of Phraortes, who 
aspiring to the kingly dignity, devised the means of 
accomplishing his wishes. The Medes inhabited separate 
villages : Dejoces, already reputed for his wisdom in his 
own neighbourhood, laboured with increased assiduity to 
administer justice at home. And this he did while dis- 
orders of every kind prevailed throughout Media ; know- 
ing well that right must ever contend against wrong. 
The Medes of his own district, observing his conduct, 
chose him for their judge, and he, still affecting power, 
was always just and upright. In this course of conduct, 
he won no little praise from his countrymen ; so that at 
length the inhabitants of other districts, hearing that 
Dejoces alone executed strict justice, and having often 
suffered under partial decisions, gladly brought their 
causes to be adjudged by him ; and in the end they sub- 
mitted to none but him. 

The number of applicants daily increasing — for it was 
found that here right determined every issue — Dejoces 
perceived that all was now in his own power. He therefore 
ceased to sit in judgment as hitherto, or to pronounce 
decisions, declaring it to be injurious to his own affairs 
to neglect them, day after day, while employed in arbi- 
trating other men's disputes. In consequence, violence 
and wrong again prevailed through the land, even more 
than heretofore. The Medes calling an assembly, deli- 
berated upon the present state of their affairs, and as I 
suppose, it was chiefly the friends of Dejoces who offered 
their advice. " Truly," said they, " if we follow this 
course it will not be possible longer to live where we do. 
Come then, and let us appoint a king, by which means the 
country will be well governed, and we shall be able to 
apply ourselves to our concerns, and no more be driven 
from our homes by injustice." It was therefore deter- 
mined that they should submit themselves to a king. 
(97) 



48 ECBATANA. 

B.C. They next debated upon whom they should appoint; 

700, and the merits of Dejoces being discussed, and his praises 
pronounced by all, he was at length chosen. When thus 
elected, he commanded that a palace, suited to the kingly 
dignity, should be constructed ; and that he should have 
a body guard of spearmen. With these commands the 
Medes complied, building for him a spacious and well 
fortified edifice, upon a spot chosen by himself; and they 
allowed him to select whom he would among the Medes 
for his guard. Possessed now of supreme power, he 
compelled the Medes to build one city so excellently 
adorned, that the other towns might be less regarded. 
In this also they were obedient, constructing a fortress 
both extensive and strong — the same which is now called 
Ecbatana. Of this city, one wall circumvented another ; 
and each rose by the height of its battlements above the 
one beyond it. The ground, which was a circular hill, fa- 
voured this construction; but it owed still more to the 
labours bestowed upon the work. The orbicular walls 
were seven in number; within the last stood the royal 
palace and the treasuries. The largest of the walls 
nearly equalled the circumference of Athens : the battle- 
ments of this outer wall were white, those of the second 
black, of the third purple, of the fourth blue, of the 
fifth orange ; all the battlements being thus covered with 
a pigment. Of the two last walls, the battlements of the 
one was plated with silver, those of the other with 
gold.* 

Such was the munition constructed for himself by 
Dejoces, around which he placed the habitations of the 
people. All these works being finished, he first established 
the custom which forbids the people to approach the 
royal presence — all business being transacted by messen- 
gers ; the king himself was seen by no one. He moreover 

* See Note. 

(99) 



DEJOCES — CYAXARES. 49 

declared it to be indecent to laugh or spit in his pre- 
sence; or indeed in the presence of each other. These 
grave usages he established with the intention of inspiring 
his former companions — men as well born and as valiant 
as himself — with the notion that he whom they never 
looked upon, was a being of a superior order ; by which 
means they would cease to vex themselves at his eleva- 
tion, or to plot against him. Having made these regula- 
tions, and confirmed himself in his tyranny, he adminis- 
tered justice with rigour. The causes were sent in to 
him in writing, which he returned in like manner, with 
his decisions : other affairs were managed with appropriate 
forms. If any one was reported to have committed 
wrong, he was sent for, and received a punishment worthy 
of the offence. For the purpose of giving effect to his 
administration, he appointed spies and listeners in all 
parts of his dominions. 

Thus Dejoces united under his sway the Median 
people, comprehending the Busae, the Paraetaceni, the 
Struchates, the Arizanti, the Budi, and the Magi. 

Dejoces dying after a reign of fifty- three years, was 
succeeded by his son Phraortes ; who not content to 
govern the Medes only, attacked the Persians, who were 
the first to submit to the Median rule. After this, finding 
himself at the head of these two nations, both of whom 
were powerful, he passed from people to people, till he 
had subdued all Asia. At length his invading army 
reached the Assyrians — the Assyrians, I mean, of Nineveh, 
who formerly ruled all the surrounding nations, but were 
now abandoned by their allies, though they still maintained 
at home a prosperous condition. In this expedition 
Phraortes perished, with a large part of his army, after 
reigning two-and-twenty years. To him succeeded his 
son, Cyaxares, who is said to have surpassed his pro- 
genitor in valour. He was the first in Asia who dis- 
tributed armies into companies, and placed apart the 
(103) e 



o 



50 THE SCYTHIANS. 

several kinds of arms — the spearmen, the archers, and 
the cavalry, which before his time fought promiscuously. 
It was while this king was making war with the Lydians, 
that, in the midst of a battle, day was changed into night. 
Cyaxares acquired to himself the whole of Asia, beyond 
the river Halys. Collecting, therefore, the forces of all 
the nations under his command, he attacked Nineveh, to 
revenge the death of his father, wishing to rase that city 
from the earth. He vanquished the Assyrians in the 
field, but while he besieged Nineveh, a vast army of 
Scythians came upon him, led by their king, Madyas, son 
of Protothyas. These Scythians, having expelled the 
Cimmerians from Europe, followed the fugitives into 
Asia, and at length arrived in the Median territory. 

From the lake Masotis, to the river Phasis, and to 
Colchis, is a distance which a good walker might pass 
over in thirty days. It is however not so far from Colchis 
to Media, which countries are separated only by the 
Saspirians. But the Scythians, instead of coming by 
that route, made a circuit, and passed over the high 
ground, having Mount Caucasus on their right : there 
meeting with the Medes, and fighting them, they got the 
mastery, and possessed themselves of all Asia. They 
then advanced towards Egypt. When they arrived in 
the Syrian Palestine, they were met by Psammetichus, 
king of Egypt, who by gifts and intreaties prevailed upon 
them to proceed no further. Retracing their steps, 
therefore, they arrived at Ascalon, a city of Syria, which 
the great body of the Scythians passed without committing 
any violences ; but a few of them, hanging in the rear, 
plundered the temple of Venus, queen of Heaven. This, 
as I find by inquiry, is the most ancient of all the temples 
of the goddess ; for even that in Cyprus, as the Cyprians 
acknowledge, was derived from (formed upon the model 
of) this. And the temple of Cythera was erected by 
Phoenicians from this part of Syria. The Scythians who 

(105) 



HISTORY OP CYRUS. 

spoiled this temple at Ascalon were, in consequence of 
the sacrilege, visited by the goddess with a disease which 
was entailed also upon their posterity ; as may even now be 
seen by those who visit Scythia. The Scythians held 
their conquests in Asia during a period of eight-and- 
twenty years, in which time, by their violence and negli- 
gence, all order was subverted. 

Instead of exacting certain taxes, they plundered 
individuals at pleasure, and marauding through the 
country, seized whatever they could take of private 
property. At length Cyaxares and the Medes, inviting 
the greater part of them to an entertainment, made them 
drunk, and then slew them ; thus they recovered in full 
the dominion they had lost. The Medes then took 
Nineveh, (as I shall relate in another place,*) and reduced 
the Assyrians, except those of Babylonia. After this, 
Cyaxares died : his reign, including the time of the 
Scythian rule, lasted forty years. 



SECTION VIII. 



HISTORY OF CYRUS. 



Cyaxares Avas succeeded by Astyages, who had a daughter 
named Mandane. This Mandane had a dream which, as 
explained by the Magi— the interpreters of dreams, gave 
her father great alarm. She was then of marriageable 

* No such relation appears in the course of the history. Hence it 
has been supposed that Herodotus wrote some work which has not come 
down to modern times; or he might at this time propose to write some 
such account of the Assyrian empire. 

(107) b 2 



52 HISTORY OF CYRUS. 

years ; but he, fearing the presage, instead of uniting her 
to a Mede of rank suited to her birth, married her to a 
Persian, named Cambyses, a man of a quiet temper, and 
though of a good family, regarded by Astyages as inferior 
almost to the lowest of the Medes. 

In the first year after the marriage of Mandane to 
Cambyses, Astyages saw another vision; he thought a 
vine sprang from his daughter which covered all Asia. 
Having again consulted the interpreters, he sent for 
Mandane from Persia, that the expected birth of a child 
might take place at home. When she arrived, he had 
her strictly guarded, resolving to destroy her offspring : 
for the Magian interpreters had declared the dream to 
portend, that the son of his daughter should displace him- 
self from the throne. To guard against this, Astyages, as 
soon as Cyrus was born, sent for Harpagus, a man with 
whom he was intimate, whom, of all the Medes, he thought 
most trust- worthy, and who managed all his affairs. 
" Harpagus," said he, " I commit to you an affair in 
which, if you are remiss, or betray me by employing 
others, the consequences will fall upon yourself. Take 
then the infant son of Mandane, carry it home, destroy 
and bury it in the mode you shall think best." To this 
Harpagus replied, " O king, hitherto you have seen in 
me no want of subserviency, and we will ever be careful 
not to offend you. If you wish this to be done, be it so : 
my part is to serve you assiduously." 

Harpagus having thus replied, received the babe, 
adorned for burial, returned weeping to his house ; where 
he repeated to his wife what had passed between Astyages 
and himself. " And what," said she, " do you propose 
to do ?" " Not," replied he, " to execute the command 
of Astyages : — no, were he to become more mad and 
unreasonable than he is, I am not the man to yield to his 
will, or to make myself the instrument of such a murder. 
There are indeed many reasons why I should not destroy 

(109) 



HISTORY OF CYRUS. 53 

the babe, which indeed is allied to me; besides, As tyages 
is old, and has no son ; if then, after his death, the 
sovereign authority should descend to his daughter, whose 
son he now wishes me to destroy, what can I expect but 
to incur the greatest danger 1 Yet for my own safety it 
is necessary that the boy should die ; but some of the 
king's own people, and not I, or mine, must perpetrate 
the murder." So saying, he instantly despatched a mes- 
senger, to bring one of the herdsmen of Astyages,-whom 
he knew to feed his flocks in a mountainous district, fit 
for the purpose, being infested with wild beasts. The 
man's name was Mithradates, whose wife and fellow- 
servant was called in the Greek tongue, Cyno; by the 
Medes, Spaco. This herdsman kept his flock at the foot 
of a mountain, north of Ecbatana, towards the Euxine : 
this part of Media, bordering upon the Saspiriaris, 
abounds with steep and lofty mountains, covered with 
forests ; whereas the other parts of the country are level. 
The man arriving without delay, was thus addressed by 
Harpagus : " Astyages commands you to take this infant, 
and to expose it in the most solitary part of the moun- 
tains, where most speedily it may be destroyed : and he 
enjoins me to tell you, that if you fail to kill the babe, 
or suffer him to survive, you will meet the very heaviest 
punishment; and I am instructed to see the infant 
exposed." 

Having heard these commands, and received the child, 
the herdsman returned on his way, and soon reached his 
cottage. It happened, by a divine providence, that a 
son was born to the man while absent in the city : both 
were at the same time anxious for each other's fate — he 
for his wife's safe delivery, and she for her husband's 
return, as it was not a usual thing for him to be sum- 
moned by Harpagus. When therefore, beyond her hope, 
he returned and presented himself again, she eagerly 
asked for what cause he had been so suddenly called. 
(Ill) e 3 



54 HISTORY OF CYRUS. 

" O wife," said he, " I have seen and heard in the city 
what ought not to be seen, or to take place among our 
masters : the house of Harpagus was filled with weeping, 
and I, as I entered, was struck with dismay ; for I be- 
held a babe lying on the floor, sobbing and crying, and 
dressed in many-coloured cloaths, embroidered with 
gold ; and Harpagus, as soon as he saw me, commanded 
me instantly to take the infant, and carrying him away, 
to expose him in some part of the mountains, most in- 
fested with wild beasts ; saying, that Astyages laid these 
commands upon me, and adding many threats if I failed 
to fulfil them. I therefore took the child, and have 
brought him, supposing at first that he belonged €o one 
of the servants, for I could not imagine whence he 
really came ; yet I was amazed at the gold and rich 
apparel, and in recollecting the grief apparent in the 
family of Harpagus. When, however, I was on the road, 
accompanied by a servant, who left the city with me, and 
who delivered the infant to my arms, I learned the truth, 
for he told me the child was the son of Mandane, the 
daughter of Astyages and of Cambyses, the son of Cyrus ; 
and that Astyages had ordered him to be killed. This, 
then, is the whole affair." 

Thus speaking, the herdsman uncovered the infant: 
the woman, seeing so fine and lovely a babe, with tears 
clasping her husband's knees, prayed that it might by 
no means be exposed. But he said it could not be other- 
wise , for persons would come from Harpagus to see the 
child exposed, and that if he refused to do what he had 
been ordered, his should himself miserably perish. Seeing 
she could not prevail with her husband, the woman used 
a second argument. "Since," said she, " I cannot dis- 
suade you from exposing the child ; as one must of neces- 
sity be seen laid out, do thus : I have this day brought 
forth a son, but jiot a living one ; expose this, therefore, 
and the son of the daughter of Astyages we will rear 

(112) 



HISTORY OF CYRUS. 55 

as one of our own; thus you will neither be caught 
wronging your masters, nor shall mischief be devised 
against us; the dead will obtain royal burial, and the 
living will not perish." The herdsman approved of this 
advice, and immediately followed it, delivering to his 
wife the infant that was to have died, and taking his own 
dead son, placed it in the basket in which he had brought 
the other, together with all its rich habiliments. This he 
conveyed to a desolate part of the mountains, and left 
it there. Three days afterwards he repaired to the city, 
leaving one of his servants in charge of the body. Pre- 
senting himself to Harpagus, he declared that he was 
ready to exhibit the dead infant. Harpagus therefore 
despatched some of the most trusty of his attendants ; 
and by them saw and interred the son of the herdsman. 
The woman from this time nursed him, who afterwards 
was called Cyrus ; for that was not the name she gave 
him. 

When the boy was about ten years old, an incident B. C. 

• 561. 

occurred which made him known. As he was playing in 

the village, near which the herds were fed, with boys of 
his own age, they in their sports bethought themselves to 
elect a king, and fixed upon him who passed for the son 
of the herdsman. He forthwith appointed some to build 
his houses, others to be his body guard, one to be the 
king's eye,* on another he bestowed the honour of pre- 
senting embassies ; to every one appointing a part. One 
of these boys, being the son of Artembares, a noble 
Mede, yielded no obedience to the commands of Cyrus, 
who directed the others to seize him ; which they doing, 
he flogged him soundly. The youth, as soon as released, 
full of resentment for this unworthy treatment, returned 
to the city, and related with tears to his father what he 
had endured from the son of the herdsman of Astyages* 

* As if— hi? iuspcctor-general, 

(114) e 4 



56 HISTORY OF CRCESUS. 

Artembares, in great wrath, appeared with his son 
before Astyages, and complained of the intolerable 
injury he had sustained, saying, " O king, thus, by your 
slave, the son of your herdsman have we been maltreated !" 
and as he spoke he displayed his son's shoulders. As- 
tyages hearing and seeing this, and intending fully to 
avenge Artembares, sent for the herdsman and his son : 
when they both appeared, Astyages, fixing his eye upon 
Cyrus, said, " Hast thou, being the son of this slave, 
dared so shamefully to treat the son of a man who is 
first in my favour?" to which he replied, " O sire, I did 
indeed thus treat him, and with justice ; for the boys of 
the village, among whom he was one, in their play ap- 
pointed me to be their king, thinking me the best fitted 
for the office. The others accordingly yielded obedience 
to my commands, but this one was disobedient, setting 
at nought my will, on which account he was punished. 
If now I am guilty in this matter, here I am before you." 
As the youth spoke, Astyages began to recognize him ; 
for the likeness of his face to his own, and the nobleness 
of his reply, and the agreement of the time of his ex- 
posure with the apparent age of the lad, all forcibly 
struck him ; and for a time prevented his uttering a 
word : at length, recovering himself, and wishing to 
dismiss Artembares, that he might severely question the 
herdsman alone, he said, " Artembares, I will take care 
that neither you nor your son shall have reason to com- 
plain:" he being thus sent away, the attendants, at the 
command of Astyages, conducted Cyrus into an inner 
room. When thus left alone with the herdsman, he 
inquired of him whence he had received the boy, and who 
delivered the child to him. He declared the youth to be 
his own son, and added that his mother was now living. 
But Astyages assured him that (by prevaricating) he did 
not consult his own welfare, for that he should be com- 
pelled by extreme tortures to confess the truth ; so saying 

(116) 



HISTORY OF/ CRffiSUS. 57 

he beckoned to the guard to seize the man, who being 
led to the torture, declared the whole truth, relating all 
that had happened from the beginning, and ended with 
entreating pardon for himself. Astyages having thus 
obtained the truth from the herdsman, cared not to punish 
him ; but feeling deeply indignant towards Harpagus, gave 
orders for him to be summoned. When Harpagus appeared 
he was thus addressed, by Astyages: "Harpagus, in 
what manner did you put to death my daughter's son, 
whom I delivered to you ?" Harpagus having seen the 
herdsman in the palace, did not betake himself to false- 
hood, lest he should be convicted of untruth ; but thus 
spoke : " O king, when I received the child, I consulted 
with myself by what means I might at once fulfil my duty 
in complying with your wishes, and avoid being the in- 
strument of death for you or your daughter. I therefore 
thus acted ; calling for this herdsman, I delivered to him 
the child, saying it was you who commanded it to be 
killed, and in saying this, as you know, I did not lie. In 
delivering the child, I enjoined that it should be exposed 
on a desert mountain, and that some one should be left in 
charge of it till it died ; at the same time threatening 
the man heavily in case of his failing to fulfil his orders. 
After he had performed his part, and the child was dead, 
I sent some of my most trusty servants who saw the 
body and buried it. — Thus was the affair managed; and 
in this way did the child die." 

Harpagus in these words declared the truth, and Asty- 
ages, concealing the anger he felt, repeated the account 
which the herdsman had given, and then went on to say, 
that the child was living, and that all was well : — " For," 
said he, " I regretted that I had so acted towards the • 
child, and deeply felt the wrong inflicted on my daughter. 
Now, therefore, as fortune has taken this happy turn, send 
your son to be with the young stranger ; and yourself attend 
me at supper ; for I propose to offer the sacrifices due 
'(118) 



58 HISTORY OF CYRUS. 

to the gods for the safety of the youth." Harpagus on 
hearing this, did reverence, and returned to his home 
delighted to find that his fault had ended so well, and that 
with such auspicious appearances he was invited to the 
feast. He returned therefore with speed, and sent his 
son, who was then in his thirteenth year, to Astyages, en- 
joining him to do whatever he was commanded : he then, 
full of joy, recounted to his wife what had happened. 
Astyages, when the son of Harpagus arrived, killed him — 
cut him in pieces — frying some parts, and boiling others ; 
and having cooked the whole in the best manner, kept it 
in readiness. At the appointed hour, Harpagus with the 
other guests arrived, to whom various meats were pre- 
sented ; but to Harpagus, the flesh of his own son, 
excepting only the head, hands, and feet, which were 
reserved in a canister. When Harpagus had eaten heartily, 
Astyages asked him if he had enjoyed the repast; to 
which Harpagus assenting, the servants to whom the 
order had been given, brought the canister containing the 
head, hands, and feet of his son, and directed him to re- 
move the cover, and take what he pleased. — Harpagus 
obeying, opened the vessel, and beheld the remains of his 
son. He however retained his emotions, and was asked 
by Astyages if he knew of what game he had eaten. 
" Yes," he said, " he knew, and was pleased with whatever 
the king had done." Thus answering, and taking the re- 
mains, he returned to his house, and I suppose buried them. 
Such was the vengeance inflicted by Astyages upon 
Harpagus. He next bethought himself of Cyrus, and 
calling for the Magi who had interpreted his dream, 
asked them again what sense they had put upon it. - 
They repeated what they had before affirmed — saying, 
" That if the child survived he must reign:" — he replied, 
" The child does live ; and being in the country, the boys 
of the village appointed him their king, and he in fact 
acted the part of a king in every particular — choosing 

(120) 



HISTORY OF CYRUS. 59 

guards, porters, and messengers, and making other neces- 
sary appointments : — now what think you of this ?" The 
Magi replied, — "If the child survives, and has actually 
reigned, and that without its being concerted, you may 
take comfort, for he shall not reign a second time. There 
are dreams which have only a frivolous accomplishment, 
and in the result amount almost to nothing." " I am/' 
said Astyages, "altogether of that opinion; — the boy 
having sustained the title of king, the dream is accom- 
plished, and I have nothing more to fear from him. Never- 
theless, you must well consider the case, and advise me what 
course will be most safe, both for my house, and for your- 
selves." To this the Magi replied, " O king, it is indeed 
our interest to look well to the permanence of your govern- 
ment ; for were it to pass to this child, who is a Persian, 
a revolution must take place ; — we being Medes should be 
reduced to servitude, and contemned as foreigners by the 
Persians ; but while you our countryman remain king, we 
have a share in the government, and are held in high 
honour by you : wherefore we must needs take care of 
you and your throne ; and if now we foresaw any danger, 
we should certainly make it known to you ; but as the 
dream has ended frivolously, we take courage, and exhort 
you to do the same. As for the child, banish him from 
your sight, sending him to his parents in Persia." 

Astyages hearing this rejoiced, and sending for Cyrus, 
thus addressed him, " My son, on account of an empty 
dream I wronged you ; but you have survived your fate : 
now therefore go gladly to Persia : — I will send you with 
attendants : when you arrive you will find a father and 
mother, not such as Mithradates the herdsman, and his 
wife." Cyrus was therefore sent off by Astyages, and 
arriving at the house of Cambyses, was received by his 
parents — received with many caresses, when they learned 
by what means he whom they had supposed to have died 
in infancy, had been preserved ; while he told them that, 
(122) 



(JO HISTORY OF CYRUS. 

having till lately, believed himself to be the son of the 
herdsman, he had only just learned from his attendants on 
the journey the true story of his 'birth and adventures. 
He related also how he had been reared by the herdsman's 
wife, whom he greatly extolled — indeed the name of 
Cxjno was always on his tongue. His parents taking ad- 
vantage of this circumstance, propagated among the Per- 
sians the belief that their son had been preserved by a 
particular providence, affirming that when Cyrus was 
exposed, a bitch had suckled him: this report spread 
far and near. 

When Cyrus attained manhood, excelling his com- 
panions in strength and every grace, he was beset by Har- 
pagus with gifts, who desired to avenge himself upon 
Astyages, which, as a private person, he could not hope 
to effect. With this view watching the growth of Cyrus, 
he sought to make him his associate, likening his own 
wrongs to those of Cyrus. But before he had made any 
attempts of this kind, Astyages becoming morose towards 
the Medes, Harpagus took occasion to tamper with the 
principal men of that nation, persuading them that it was 
necessary to elevate Cyrus, and to put an end to the go- 
vernment of Astyages. While these schemes were in 
progress, and nearly ready for execution, Cyrus being still 
in Persia, Harpagus sought the means of making them 
known to him ; and having no other means — the roads 
being guarded, he devised the following artifice ; — he 
prepared a hare, cutting it open so as not to injure the 
coat ; and inserted a letter, containing what he wished to 
communicate : he then sewed it up, and gave it, with 
hunting tackle, to a faithful servant, whom he sent to 
Persia, instructing him to deliver it to Cyrus, with an 
injunction to open the hare himself, and without witnesses. 
This was accomplished, and Cyrus taking the hare, opened 
it — found the note, and read as follows — " Son of Cam- 
byses, if the gods had not their eye upon you, you could 

(124) 



HISTORY OF CYRUS. 61 

not have passed through fortunes so wonderful ! Avenge 
yourself now upon Astyages, your murderer ; for by his in- 
tention you had perished ; though by the providence of the 
gods, and by me, you survive. You have heretofore learned 
all that was practised against you, and what I suffered 
from Astyages, because, instead of destroying you, I 
delivered you to the herdsman. Now if you yield to my 
advice, the realm which Astyages sways, will all become 
your's. Incite the Persians to revolt, and invade Media ; 
and whether the army sent by Astyages against you is 
entrusted to me, or to any other Median chief, you will 
find all yield to your wishes ; for these chiefs are prepared 
to abandon him, to join you, and to attempt the dethrone- 
ment of Astyages. Be assured then that all is ready here : 
— act thus and act promptly." 

On receiving this intelligence, Cyrus considered by 
what means he might best induce the Persians to revolt ; 
and at length concluded that the following plan would, 
better than any other, suit the occasion. — He convoked 
an assembly of the Persians, having first composed a letter 
suited to his .purpose. In this assembly he opened the 
letter, and read it, the purport of which was that Astyages 
appointed him general of the Persians. " Now therefore 
Persians," said he, " I enjoin you severally to appear 
each with his hatchet." The Persians consist of many 
tribes, and some of these Cyrus called upon and incited to 
revolt from the Medes: these were the tribes on which 
all the others depend, namely the Pasargadae, the Mara- 
phians, and the Maspians ; of these the first are the most 
noble, as they include the family of the Achsemenidae, from 
which the Persian kings take their origin. The other 
Persians are the following — the Panthialae, the Derusians, 
the Germanians, who are all agriculturalists ; — the nomadic 
tribes are the Dai, the Mardians, the Dropicians, and the 
Sagartians. 

When they all appeared, each bringing the instrument 
(126) 



02 HISTORY OF CYRUS. 

above-mentioned, Cyrus commanded them — the country 
around, to the extent of eighteen or twenty stadias being 
covered with briars, to clear it in one day. This labour 
the Persians accomplished ; and were enjoined to present 
themselves the next day, washed. Meanwhile Cyrus col- 
lected and slaughtered all his father's flocks — goats, sheep, 
and oxen ; and caused them to be cooked to entertain the 
Persian army : he provided also the best wines and bread. 
On the morrow, when they came, he made them recline 
on the grass, and partake of the feast. As they rose from 
supper, Cyrus asked whether they thought yesterday's 
treatment, or that they now enjoyed, the most desirable. 
They declared there was the greatest possible difference 
between the two ; for on the first day they had endured 
every evil ; but on this had possessed every good. Taking 
up the word, Cyrus opened to them his whole intention, 
saying — " Persians— thus stand your affairs — if you are 
willing to follow me, these, and a thousand other good 
things, shall be yours; nor shall you know any servile 
labour. But if you refuse to obey me, toils innumerable, 
like those of yesterday, will be laid upon you. Now, 
therefore, yield to me, and be free. For I believe myself 
to be divinely ordained to fill your hands with these 
benefits ; and you, deem yourselves not at all inferior to 
the Medes, as not in other respects, so not in military 
virtue. This being the state of your affairs, revolt 
instantly from Astyages." 

The Persians who had long impatiently borne the 
Median rule, now finding a leader, with alacrity asserted 
their liberties. As soon as Astyages was informed of the 
proceedings of Cyrus, he despatched a messenger to 
summon him tp appear, but Cyrus instructed the messenger 
to say that he would come sooner than Astyages could 
wish. Hearing this, Astyages armed all the Medes ; and, 
as if infatuated, appointed Harpagus general of the army, 
forgetting the wrong he Jiad inflicted. When the two 

(127) 



HISTORY OP CYRUS. 63 

armies engaged, some of the Medes who knew nothing of 
the conspiracy, fought, while others went, over to the 
Persians ; but the greater number turned and fled. 

Though the Median army was thus shamefully dis- 
persed, Astyages, on receiving the intelligence, did not 
spare threats against Cyrus : — " Cyrus," said he, " shall 
have little reason to rejoice." His first act after this 
defeat was to empale those Magian interpreters who had 
persuaded him to send Cyrus away : he then armed all the 
Medes — young and old, who were left in the city. These 
he led forth to meet the Persians, and was vanquished ; he 
himself being taken prisoner, and his army scattered. 
When Astyages was brought in a captive, Harpagus, well 
pleased with his revenge, stood forth, and uttered insulting 
taunts ; among other bitter speeches he asked — recollect- 
ing the supper in which Astyages had given him the flesh 
of his son; — "how he liked the change from sovereignty 
to servitude?" but he, looking at Harpagus, asked in 
return whether he called himself the author of the enter- 
prise of Cyrus. "Yes," said he, "I may justly claim it 
as my own, for I myself wrote to him." " Then," con- 
tinued Astyages," you are at once the most stupid and the 
most iniquitous of men ; — the most stupid, because when 
the sovereignty came within your reach — which it did, if 
you are the author of what has taken place, you made it 
over to another : — the most iniquitous, because, for the 
sake of a supper (to avenge the supper) you have brought 
the Medes under bondage : for if indeed it was necessary 
to depose me, and to place some one else on the throne, it 
would have been more just to have conferred the boon 
upon some Mede, rather than upon a Persian, but now the 
Medes, who are guiltless of the offence, must, exchange 
dominion for slavery ; while the Persians, hitherto the 
slaves of the Medes, will become their masters." 

Thus ended the reign of Astyages, w ho had ruled the B. C 
empire five-and-thirty years ; and the Medes, through his 
(130) 



550. 



(J4 THE PERSIANS. 

ferocity, bowed beneath the Persians, after having ruled 
Asia, beyond the river Halys, one hundred and twenty- 
eight years, excepting only the years of the Scythian 
domination. It is true that at an after period they re- 
pented of this submission, and under Darius (Nothus) 
revolted; but being defeated in battle they were again 
reduced. The Persians under Cyrus by thus shaking off 
the yoke of Astyages and the Medes, became the masters, 
from that time forward, of Asia. Cyrus, without inflicting 
any further ill upon Astyages, retained him near his person, 
during the remainder of his life. — Such is the story of the 
birth, education, and elevation of Cyrus, who, as I have 
already related, by successfully repelling the unjust attack 
of Croesus, extended his dominion throughout Asia. 



SECTION IX. 

MANNERS AND LAWS OF THE PERSIANS. 

[I have informed myself of the Persian Institutions, which 
are such as follow. — They think it unlawful to form images, 
or to construct temples or altars — imputing extreme folly 
to those who do so : — I suppose not believing the gods to be 
allied to humanity, as the Greeks imagine. Their custom is 
to ascend the highest mountains, where they perform sacri- 
fices to Jove ; and they call by this name the whole circle of 
the heavens. They sacrifice also to the sun, to the moon, to 
the earth, to fire and water, and to the winds; — to these only 
they anciently sacrificed ; but in later times they have learned, 
from the Assyrians and Arabians, to worship also Urania ; — 
the Assyrians called Venus, Mylitta— -the Arabians Alytta; 
but the Persians, Mitra. The mode of performing sacrifices 
to the above-mentioned divinities is as follows : — when about 

(132) 



OF THE PERSIANS. G5 

to sacrifice, the Persians neither erect altars, nor kindle fires : 
they neither make libations, nor use the flute, nor have gar- 
lands, nor cakes. If any one intends to offer to a god, he 
leads the animal to a consecrated spot :* there he invokes the 
god, having his tiara girt with a wreath — generally of myrtle. 
Nor does the worshipper implore blessings for himself alone, 
but prays that it may be well with all the Persians, and with 
the king : — thus he prays for himself only as included in the 
petition for all the Persians. Then dividing the victim into 
parts, he boils the flesh, and lays it upon the most tender 
herbs, especially trefoil. This done, a magus — without a 
magus no sacrifice may be performed, sings a sacred hymn, 
called by them an incantation. After a little time, the wor- 
shipper carries away the flesh, of which he makes what use 
he thinks fit. 

They deem it right to pay a peculiar regard to their birth- 
day, on which occasion a Persian provides a more ample feast 
than on any other ; and the rich produce on that day, an ox, a 
horse, a camel, or an ass, cooked whole in a furnace ; while the 
poor place on their tables the smaller animals of their flocks. 
They partake sparingly of the first course ; but plentifully of 
the second ;f on which account the Persians are accustomed 
to say that " the Greeks leave their tables hungry; having 
nothing of consequence with which to replenish them : for if 
they had, they would not so soon finish their meal." The 
Persians drink much wine ; yet preserve decency at table ; 
and are accustomed to deliberate upon their most important 
concerns while drinking. Yet whatever they may then 
agree to, is the next day again proposed to them when sober, 
by the master of the house in which the company assembled ; 
and if then approved is adopted; but not otherwise. And 
then, whatever they determine while sober, they reconsider, 
when warm with wine. 

* A pure place. 

t This account of a Persian dinner is susceptible of several inter- 
pretations ; indeed the text in this place seems of doubtful authority :— 
there is nothing in the conjectures of critics important to the general 
reader. 

(133) f 



GG MANNERS AND LAWS 

When two Persians meet on the road, it may be known 
whether they are of the same rank ; — for the salutation of 
such persons consists in kissing each other on the mouth ; — 
if one of them is a little inferior, a kiss on the cheek is given ; 
but if one is much less noble, he falls down and worships the 
other. They honour all men in proportion to their proximity 
of situation ; beginning with themselves ; then their imme- 
diate neighbours ; then those more remote ; and they honour 
least, those who are the most remote : — believing themselves 
to be of all mankind by far the best ; and their neighbours 
good, in the said proportion of nearness; while they reckon 
those who dwell at extreme distances to be the basest of men. 
Under the government of the Medes, there existed a regular 
progression of power ; the Medes holding a universal sway ; 
but exercising a peculiar authority over their nearest neigh- 
bours, while these ruled the people next beyond them, and so 
to the extremity of the empire. The Persians followed this 
example, and as they extended their influence, gave honour 
to their subjects according to this rule. 

The Persians, more readily than any other people, adopt 
foreign customs; for example; thinking the Median habit 
. more becoming than their own, they adopted it : — from the 
Egyptians they derived the military breast-plate; and in 
their pleasures and domestic habits they have fallen into the 
practices of other nations. Next to valour in the field, the 
possession of a numerous offspring is chiefly honoured ; and 
every year gifts are sent by the king to those who can show 
the greatest number of children ; for in numbers they think 
consists the strength of a nation. From their fifth to their 
twentieth year, the youth learn three things only; — to ride, 
to use the bow, and to speak the truth : — before their fifth 
year children scarcely come into the presence of their father ; 
but are left with the women : the reason of which custom is, 
that in case of their death in infancy, the father may not be 
afflicted by the loss. Another of their usages also I greatly 
approve of, namely, that no man is put to death for his first 
crime ; and neither the king, nor any private Persian, may 
inflict a severe punishment upon a slave for a single offence ; 

(137) 



OF THE PERSIANS. 67 

nor may anger be indulged unless, when duly weighed, the 
faults of a servant are found to outweigh his services. They 
deny that any one ever kills his father or mother ; and when 
any thing of this kind happens, they will rather affirm the 
murderer to be supposititious, than admit the possibility of a 
father dying by the hand of his own son. They think that 
whatever it is not lawful to do, it is not lawful even to men- 
tion, and deem lying, of all crimes, the most disgraceful : next 
to that — to be in debt ; and for several reasons, chiefly 
because, as they say, he who is in debt is compelled to lie. 
Whoever of the citizens is afflicted with the leprosy, is forbid 
to enter the city, or to hold intercourse with other Persians ; 
for they affirm that this disease is inflicted in punishment of 
some sin against the sun. Any foreigner so diseased is 
expelled by the mob from the country; and on the same 
account they drive away white pidgeons. They are careful to 
preserve a river from every pollution, even that of washing 
the hands in it ; nor do they permit others to do so ; as in fact 
they have a great veneration for all streams. It is peculiar 
to the Persians also, though it is more noticed by others than 
themselves, that all epithets of dignity, derived from bodily 
qualities, end in the same letter, namely, that called by the 
Dorians San, by the Ionians Sigma. In this letter also you 
will find that all Persian proper names without exception 
terminate. 

Thus far I have been able to speak accurately of what 
has fallen under my own observation ; but of another cus- 
tom I cannot speak so positively ; — I mean the rite of 
burial, in which more secresy is observed. It is said that the 
corpse of every Persian, before interment, is torn of birds or 
dogs. This practice is, I certainly know, observed by the 
Magi, for it is done openly. The Persians having inclosed 
the body in wax, bury it in the earth. The Magi, as they 
differ much from other men, so also from the Egyptian priests; 
for these scrupulously abstain from killing any animal, 
except such as they sacrifice ; but those, with their own hands, 
slay all animals, except dogs and men; indeed they use 
great diligence in destroying ants, serpents, and various 
(140) F 2 



68 THE IONIANS 

reptiles and birds ;— there might be some peculiar reason 
originally for this custom, which we leave as it is, and return 
to the course of the history.] 



SECTION X. 

HISTORY OF THE IONIANS AND jEOLIANS. 

The Ionians and JEolians, as soon as the Lydians were 
subdued by the Persians, sent messengers to Cyrus at 
Sardis, wishing to submit themselves to him on the same 
conditions as those granted to them by Grcesus ; but he, 
after hearing what they had to offer, addressed to them 
this fable : — " There was a certain piper, who seeing fishes 
in the sea, piped to them, thinking they would come upon 
land ; but as he was disappointed in this hope, he took 
a net, with which he caught a great number, and drew 
them ashore : seeing them skipping about, he said to the 
fishes, you may cease now to dance, since you refused to 
come up and do so when I piped." This comparison 
Cyrus applied to the Ionians and vEolians, because the 
former, when first he sent a messenger to them, requiring 
them to separate themselves from Croesus, refused to 
comply ; but afterwards, when all was over, they were 
forward enough to tender their submission. He therefore 
spoke to them in anger. They, when his answer was 
reported to them, fortified their cities, and convoked a 
general assembly of the Ionian States, excepting only the 
Milesians, with whom alone Cyrus had covenanted, on the 
same terms as those before existing between them and the 
Lydians. The other Ionians agreed to send a common 
embassy to Sparta, entreating aid. 

(141) 



AND iEOLIANS. 09 

[These Ionians who assemble at Panionium, have found- 
ed their cities in a country surpassing- all others that we 
know of, in the advantages of climate and of the seasons. 
None of the ' surrounding countries can compare with 
Ionia, either above or below, to the east or to the west; 
for while some of them suffer from cold and damps, others are 
oppressed by heat and drought. The Ionians do not all speak 
the same language, but have four distinct forms of the inflec- 
tions. Miletus is the first of the Ionian cities towards the south, 
then Myus and Priene ; these cities are in Caria, and use the 
same language : — the following are in Lydia — Ephesus, 
Colophon, Lebedos, Teos, Clazomene, Phocaea ; but these 
cities, though all speaking the same dialect, differ entirely 
from those above-mentioned. There are yet to be named 
three Ionian states, of which two occupy the Islands of 
Samos and Chios, and one — Erythria — stands on the continent. 
The Chians and Erythrians speak the same language; but the 
Samians, one .peculiar to themselves : — these are the four 
idioms of the Ionic tongue. 

Of these Ionians, the Milesians were without fear; having 
made a league with Cyrus" : nor were the islanders in danger, 
for the Persians had not then ventured upon the seas ; nor 
were the Phoenicians at that time subjected to their com- 
mand. These therefore separated themselves from the other 
Ionians, and for this reason, that they (the Ionians) were the 
feeblest of the Hellenistic people ; — a people then of all 
others the feeblest ; for excepting the Athenians, none of the 
Grecian states were at that time at all considerable. Indeed 
the Ionians in general, and the Athenians in particular, were 
ashamed of being called by their original name; and this 
seems to me to be the case with most of them even at present. 
But these twelve cities made the name their glory— built a 
temple for themselves alone, to which they gave the name 
Panionium, and from which they resolved to exclude all the 
other Ionians: and in fact, none, except the Smyrnians, 
sought to communicate with them. In like manner the Do- 
rians of Pentapolis— the district formerly called Hexapolis, 
prohibited any of the neighbouring Dorians from entering 
(144) f 3 



70 THE IONIANS 

the Triopic temple ; and any of their own people who were 
convicted of sacrilege towards their temple, were excom- 
municated. Thus, for example, it once happened that, in the 
games celebrated in honour of the Triopian Apollo, (in which 
brazen tripods were assigned to the victor, and which were not 
to be removed from the temple, but dedicated to the god) a 
certain Halicarnassian named Agasicles, being the victor, set 
the law at naught, carrying the tripod away, and hanging it 
up in his house ; on which account the five cities, namely 
Lindus, Ialyssus, Camirus, Cos, and Cnidus, excluded the 
sixth — Halicarnassus, from their communion :— such was the 
punishment they inflicted. 

The reason, as it seems to me, why the twelve Ionian 
states refused to admit others to their society ,was this, that when 
they inhabited the Peloponnesus, they occupied that number 
of districts ; — in the same manner as the Achaeans, who ex- 
pelled the Ionians, are now distributed into twelve cantons — 
namely, first Pellene — not far from Sicyon — then ZEgira and 
iEgae, watered by the perennial river Crathis, from which a 
river in Italy takes its name ; next Bura, and Helice, where 
the Ionians, when beaten by the Achaeans took refuge ; then 
follow JEgium, Rhypae, Patne, Pharae, and Olenus, through 
which runs the large river Pirus ; then Dyme and Tritaea ; 
which alone of all these regions is wholly inland. 

These twelve cantons, now possessed by the Achaeans, 
belonged then to the Ionians, and gave occasion to the 
constitution of the twelve Ionian states (of Asia.) To affirm 
that these were of nobler origin, or in any respect better 
than the other Ionians, is absurd. The Abantes of Eubcea 
are a considerable part of the race, and they do not even 
retain the name, or indeed any thing in common with the 
inhabitants of Ionia, and are mingled with many nations ; as 
with the Minyan Orchomenians, the Cadmeans, the Dry- 
opians, the Phocidians, or a part of them, the Molossians, 
the Arcadian Pelasgians, the Dorians of Epidaurus, and 
others. Even those who came from the Prytaneum of the 
Athenians, and who reckon themselves the best born of all 
the Ionians, are sprung from ancestors who did not bring 

(146) 



AND /EOLIANS. 71 

wives with them to the continent ; but took Carian women, 
whose parents they had killed. On which account these 
women bound themselves by a solemn oath, which they trans- 
mitted also to their daughters, never to sit at table with their 
husbands, and never to call them by that name : — thus they 
kept in mind the slaughter of their fathers, husbands, and 
children, and the violence done to themselves:— this happened 
at Miletus. Some of these Ionians, in electing kings, chose 
(exclusively) Lycians of the family of Glaucus, son of Hip- 
polochus : others fixed upon Caucon Pylians, descended from 
Codrus, son of Melanthus; and some (elected kings indif- 
ferently) of both races. These indeed prided themselves more 
upon the Ionian name than others; — but in truth all are 
Ionians who sprung from the Athenians, and who observe the 
Apaturian festival, which is celebrated by all except the 
Ephesians and Colophonians, who were excluded on the pre- 
text of a murder. 

Panionium is a sacred place on mount Mycale, looking 
towards the north, which the Ionians in common have devoted 
to the Heliconian Neptune. This Mycale is a steep promon- 
tory, stretching out westward from the continent, opposite to 
Samos. Here the inhabitants of all the Ionian cities cele- 
brate the festival called Panionia:— the names of all the 
Greek festivals like all Persian proper names end in the 
same letter. We have mentioned the Ionian cities ; those of 
the jEolians are the following:— Cyme, called Phryconis, 
Larissa, Neon-Tichus, Temnos, Cilia, Notium, JEgiroessa, 
Pitane, iEgaea, Myrina, and Grynia ; these are the eleven 
ancient cities of iEolia -.—Smyrna, which made the twelfth on 
the continent, was taken by the Ionians. Though the climate 
of iEolia is inferior to that of Ionia, its soil is better. The 
iEolians lost Smyrna in the following manner : — 

Certain Colophonians being vanquished in a sedition, and 
exiled from their country, were received by the Smyrneans. 
Some time afterwards, the fugitives observing that the Smyr- 
neans were celebrating a feast of Bacchus without the city 
walls, shut the gates and possessed themselves of the city. The 
iEolians soon came in aid of the citizens; but it was at length 
(150) f 4 



72 THE REDUCTION OP IONIA 

agreed that the Ionians, (Colophonians) on restoring to them 
their goods, should retain the town. The Smyrneans were 
therefore distributed among the other eleven cities, in which 
they obtained the rights of citizenship. These then are the 
cities of the continental iEolians, not including the inha- 
bitants of mount Ida, who are separated from the others. 
They have also rive cities in the Isle of Lesbos ; the inha- 
bitants of the sixth, named Arisba, were reduced to captivity 
by their kinsmen, the Methymnians. There is also an 
iEolian city in Tenedos, and another in the hundred islands. 
These people of Lesbos and Tenedos, like the Ionians of the 
islands had nothing to fear (from Cyrus;) the other (con- 
tinental) cities resolved to follow the course pursued by the 
Ionians, whatever it might be.] 



SECTION XI. 

THE REDUCTION OF IONIA BY THE PERSIANS. 

When the Ionian and iEolian messengers arrived at 
Sparta — and they used the utmost expedition in the 
journey, they chose from among themselves a Phocaean 
named Pythermus, to be their spokesman. . He assumed 
a purple robe that the Spartans might be induced to 
assemble in greater numbers : — and with many arguments 
besought them to defend the Ionian states. The Lace- 
daemonians heedless of this harangue, determined not to 
do so ; and the messengers took their departure. Never- 
theless, though they rejected the petition of the Ionians, 
they thought proper to send persons in a fifty-oared 
vessel — as it seems to me, as spies upon the movements 
both of Cyrus and of the Ionians. "When these Spartans 

(152) 



BY THE PERSIANS. 73 

arrived at Phocaea, they despatched the most approved 
of their number, by name Lacrines, to Sardis, to inform 
Cyrus of the Lacedaemonian decree — " That they would 
not overlook any violence done to a city, upon the soil of 
Greece." When the herald had delivered this message, 
Cyrus is said to have asked the Greeks about him, who 
these Lacedaemonians were, and what were their num- 
bers, that they thus ventured to lay retraints upon him : 
having informed himself concerning them, he is reported 
to have addressed the Spartan as follows : — "I have 
never feared men such as you, who have a space in the 
midst of your city set apart for the purpose of cheating 
each other by false oaths. If I do well the Lacedaemo- 
nians shall have occasion to mind their own affairs, instead 
of caring for the troubles of the Ionians." This reproach 
Cyrus flung at all the Greeks, who in their market-places 
are always buying and selling ; whereas the Persians are 
not addicted to commerce, and have no such thing among 
them as a market. 

After this Cyrus committed Sardis to Tabalus, a 
Persian ; and charged a Lydian named Pactyas to bring 
away the treasures of Croesus and of the other Lydians. 
He himself then returned to Ecbatana, taking Croesus 
with him: as for the Ionians, he for the present disre- 
garded them. He had first to contend against Babylon, 
and the Bactrians, the Saces, and the Egyptians, whom 
he designed to attack in person ; sending one of his gene- 
rals against the Ionians. Cyrus had no sooner left Sardis, 
than Pactyas incited the Lydians to revolt against Tabalus. 
Descending to the coast with all the treasures of Sardis, 
he hired auxiliaries, and prevailed upon the inhabitants 
of the coast to fight under his command. Advancing 
upon Sardis, he besieged Tabalus, who shut himself up 
in the citadel. Cyrus being informed of this while on 
his journey, thus addressed Croesus: " Croesus, when 
shall I see an end of these disorders? It seems the 
(155) 



74 THE REDUCTION OF IONIA 

Lydians will never cease to excite troubles for me and 
themselves. Will it not be best at once to make slaves 
of them? I have, I think, acted like one who having 
it in his power to slay the father, has been willing to 
spare the children ; for you, who have been more than a 
father to the Lydians, I lead away, but spare them their 
city. May I not wonder then that they rebel against 
me ?" Thus he spoke his mind, and Crcesus fearing lest 
he should utterly overthrow Sardis, replied, " O king, 
what you say is reasonable; yet indulge not all your 
anger, neither destroy an ancient city which was not 
guilty in the first instance, nor is to be blamed on the 
present occasion ; for it was I alone who committed the 
first fault, and the punishment falls upon my own head. 
But in what has recently happened Pactyas is to blame, 
to whom you committed the government of Sardis, and 
he shall give you amends. Pardon the Lydians, and 
deal with them as I shall direct, and they will not again 
revolt from you, or be in any degree formidable : send 
to them your commands not to retain weapons of war ; 
enjoin them to wear shirts under their cloaks ; instead of 
sandals to use shoes ; let their sons be taught to play on 
the harp, to sing, and to follow trade ; and ere long, O 
king, you will see their men become women, so that they 
shall never again give you uneasiness." 

Croesus gave this advice, thinking it better for the 
Lydians than that they should be sold for slaves, and 
well knowing that unless he proposed measures appa- 
rently eligible, he could not hope to change the purpose 
of Cyrus ; and he feared lest at some future time, even 
if they avoided the immediate danger, they should revolt 
from the Persians, and bring ruin upon themselves. 
Cyrus pleased with the proposition, and suppressing his 
anger, professed himself persuaded. He then called for 
a Mede, named Mazares, whom he instructed to make 
known to the Lydians his will according to the advice of 

(156) 



BY THE PERSIANS. 75 

Croesus. This Mede was also commanded to sell as 
slaves all who, with the Lydians, had attacked Sardis ; 
and by all means to bring Pactyas before Cyrus alive. 
Having given these orders on the way, he hastened his 
return home to Persia. 

When Pactyas learned that an army was fast advancing 
against him, he fled in dismay to Cyme; meanwhile 
Mazares the Mede, leading a considerable part of the 
army of Cyrus towards Sardis, did not arrive till Pactyas 
and his followers had escaped. He first compelled the 
Lydians to conform to the commands of Cyrus ; and the 
consequence was that an entire change in their manners 
took place. He next despatched messengers to Cyme, 
demanding that Pactyas should be given up to him ; but 
the Cymeans resolved to ask the advice of the god upon 
the subject at the Branchidian oracle : — a very ancient 
oracle, always consulted by the Ionians and iEolians; 
the temple is situated in the Milesian territory, above the 
port of Panormus. Sending therefore their messengers 
they inquired, " Concerning Pactyas, what would be 
most agreeable to the gods for them to do ?" the oracle 
replied, " To deliver Pactyas to the Persians." Hearing 
this they prepared to deliver him ; but when the people 
at large were resolved to do so, Aristodicus, son of 
Heraclides, a man in high repute among the citizens, 
forbade them to act in this manner, as he did not confide 
in the oracle, or believed that the messengers had not 
reported it truly. They therefore sent other persons, of 
whom Aristodicus was one, to consult the oracle a second 
time. When they arrived at Branchidse, Aristodicus 
himself put the question in these words, " O king ! 
Pactyas a Lydian, came to us a suppliant, fleeing from 
the death threatened him by the Persians, who now 
demand him of the Cymeans ; but we, though fearing 
the Persian power, dare not surrender him until we have 
been certainly informed by you that we ought to do so." 
(159) 



76 THE REDUCTION OF IONIA 

To this inquiry the same answer as before was returned, 
that Pactyas should be delivered to the Persians. Upon 
this Aristodicus, having before determined what to do, 
walking- round the temple, disturbed the sparrows and 
other birds that built their nests about the edifice. While 
thus employed, it is said that a voice proceeded from the 
recess, directed towards Aristodicus, uttering" these 
words : " Most impious of men ! what is it that thou darest 
to attempt? Dost thou drive away from the temple 
those whom I protect?" To which it is added, Aristo- 
dicus, without hesitation, replied, " O king! you protect 
your suppliants, and command the Cymeans to deliver up 
their's !" " Yes," replied the voice, " I command it, 
that those who so impiously approached the oracle, may 
quickly perish, and no more draw near to ask if a sup- 
pliant may be surrendered !" 

This being reported to the Cymeans, they determined, 
that they might neither perish by delivering up Pactyas, 
nor be besieged for retaining him, to send him to Myti- 
lene. The Mytilenians, when Mazares sent to demand 
him, offered to do so for a certain sum, I know not 
precisely how much, the bargain not having been con- 
cluded ; for the Cymeans, learning the intention of the 
Mitylenians, despatched a ship to Lesbos, and conveyed 
Pactyas to Chios. But the Chians dragged him from 
the temple of Minerva the Protectress, and surrendered 
him to the Persians. As a recompense for this act, they 
received Atarneus, a district of Mysia, opposite to Lesbos. 
The Persians having by these means obtained Pactyas, 
kept him in ward, intending to present him to Cyrus. 
It was a long time after this event before any of the 
Chians dared to offer cakes, the produce of Atarneus, to 
the gods ; or indeed to admit any of its fruits into their 
temples. 

Mazares presently attacked those who had besieged 
Tabalus (in Sardis.) The Prienians he sold for slaves, 

(161) 



BY THE PERSIANS. 77 

and invaded the territory watered by the Meander, giving 
it up to be pillaged by his army ; Magnesia suffered the 
same fate : soon afterwards he fell ill, and died. To him 
succeeded, in the command of the army, Harpagus the 
Mede — the same to whom Astyages offered an unnatural 
repast, and who aided Cyrus in obtaining the kingdom. 
This man, appointed general by Cyrus, on his arrival in 
Ionia, drove the people within their walls, and then be- 
sieged them, by throwing up mounds. The first Ionian 
city attacked in this way was Phocaea. 

[The Phocaeans were the first of the Greeks who undertook 
long voyages, making known the Adriatic and the. Tyrrhenian 
seas, with Iberia and Tartessns. Their ships were not round- 
shaped, but galleys of fifty oars. Coming to Tartassus, they 
contracted friendship with the king, whose name was Argan- 
thonius, and who had reigned at Tartassus eighty years ; — he 
lived altogether an hundred and twenty. To this man the 
Phocaeans so much endeared themselves that he first endea- 
voured to induce them to abandon Ionia, and take up their 
abode in his country wherever they pleased ; not prevailing 
with them to accept this offer, and being informed of the 
growing power of their neighbours the Medes, he gave them a 
sum of money that they might surround their city with a wall : 
and that he gave unsparingly a sufficient proof is afforded by 
the extent of the walls, which are constructed throughout of 
stones of great size, wrought and laid with the utmost exact- 
ness. In this manner then the Phocaeans became possessed 
of walls.] 

Harpagus advancing, besieged the Phocaeans, to whom 
lie made this proposition — that he should be content if 
they would rase one of their battlements, and dedicate 
one mansion (to the king's use.) But the Phocaeans unable 
to endure the thought of servitude, asked that one day 
might be given them in which to consult, after which 
they would give their answer: in the mean time they 
(164) 



78 THE REDUCTION OF IONIA 

demanded that the army should be withdrawn from the 
walls. To this Harpagus replied, that he well knew 
what they were about to do ; nevertheless he would give 
them leave to deliberate. As soon as Harpagus had 
withdrawn the army, the Phocaeans drew their galleys 
to sea, putting on board their children, their wives, all 
their goods, and the images even from the temples, with 
the consecrated gifts ; leaving only pictures, or statues of 
stone or brass. Then themselves going on board, they 
sailed to Chios ; and the Persians took Phocaea, deserted 
of its inhabitants. The Phocaeans proposed to the Chians 
to purchase what are called the (Enussian Islands ; but 
the latter were unwilling to accept the price offered, 
fearing lest a centre of commerce should be formed, 
injurious to their own island. The Phocaeans therefore 
directed their course towards Cyrnus (Corsica) where, 
twenty years before, at the command of an oracle, they 
had founded a city, called Alalia ; Arganthonius was by 
this time dead. But on their way (from Chios) the Pho- 
caeans put in at Phocaea, and put to the sword all the 
Persians left by Harpagus to garrison the place. Having 
done this, they invoked mighty imprecations upon any 
one of their number who should abandon the expedition ; 
at the same time they cast a red hot ball of iron into the 
sea, swearing " never to return to Phocaea till that ball 
should re-appear." But as they were preparing to de- 
part for Corsica, more than half of the citizens were 
seized with compunction, and with a passion for their 
homes and accustomed haunts : renouncing their oath 
therefore, they sailed back to Phocaea, while those who 
adhered to it proceeded on their voyage from the (Enus- 
sian Islands. 

"When they reached Corsica they joined those who had 
before settled there; built temples, and continued five 
years ; but they made so many plundering incursions upon 
all their neighbours, that at length the Tyrrhenians and 

(166) 



BY THE PERSIANS. 79 

Carthegenians united their forces against them, furnishing 
both together sixty ships. The Phocaeans on their part 
fitted out the same number of vessels ; and the two fleets 
engaged in the Sardonian sea, when the latter obtained a 
Cadmean victory ;* for forty of their ships were destroyed, 
and the twenty that remained were rendered useless by 
having the rostra turned aside. 

Returning therefore to Alalia, they took in their children 
and wives, and as many of their effects as their vessels 
could contain; and then, leaving Corsica, sailed to 
Rhegium. The crews of the ships that were destroyed, 
were, for the most part, taken by the Carthagenians and 
Tyrrhenians, who carrying them ashore, stoned them. 
After this, whatever belonging to the Agyllanians passed 
over the ground where the Phocaeans were stoned, became 
distorted, mutilated, or mad— as well sheep and oxen as 
men. The Agyllanians sent therefore to Delphi, to be 
informed how they might expiate the offence. The 
Pythian commanded them to do, what in fact these people 
still continue to perform; for to the present time they 
celebrate games to the honour of the dead, with gymnastic 
and equestrian contests: — such was the fate of these 
Phocaeans. The fugitives who passed over to Rhegium, 
built a city in the territory of GEnotria : — this city is now 
called Hyela. It was founded at the suggestion of a 
Posidonian, who taught them that the intention of the 
Pythian was not that they should colonize the island 
of Cyrnus ; but honour the hero of that name. So much 
for the Phocaeans of Ionia. 

The course pursued by the Teians was similar ; for when 
Harpagus, by means of a rampart of earth, got possession 
of the wall, they all went on board their vessels, and sailed 
for Thrace, where they built Abdera, on the spot on which, 

* A proverbial expression, meaning a victory nearly fatal to the 
conquerors. 

(168) 



80 THE REDUCTION OF IONIA 

before them, Timesius the Clazomenian had founded a 
colony, but without benefit to himself, for he was expelled 
by the Thracians : yet he was afterwards honoured as a 
hero by these Teians of Abdera. These then, (the 
Phocaeans and Teians) alone of all the Ionians, by abandon- 
ing their country avoided servitude. The others — ex- 
cepting the Milesians, all met Harpagus in the field ; and 
like those who retired, behaved valiantly, fighting seve- 
rally for their possessions: but being vanquished, and 
subdued, they were left to occupy their lands, on the con- 
dition of fulfilling their duties as subjects. The Milesians, 
as I have already said, having before made a covenant 
with Cyrus, remained undisturbed. Thus a second time * 
was Ionia conquered. As for the Ionians of the islands — 
dismayed at seeing their brethren on the continent over- 
come by Harpagus, they surrendered themselves to 
Cyrus. 

Though thus reduced, the Ionians did not the less 
assemble at Panionium : and on this occasion they received, 
as I am informed, very seasonable advice from Bias the 
Prienian, which, if they had adopted, they might have 
been the most prosperous of all the Greeks. He advised 
them as follows : — " Let the Ionians, uniting all their ships 
in one fleet, sail for Sardinia, and there found a city for 
all the Ionians ; — thus escaping from servitude, will they 
happily possess the largest of all islands, and become 
masters of others. But if they remained in Ionia, it did 
not appear that they could ever regain their liberties." 
Such was the opinion of Bias, given after their calamities 
had fallen upon the Ionians. Eligible also was the advice 
of Thales, the Milesian — by descent a Phoenician — who 
before these misfortunes happened, counselled them to 
establish a representative government at Tei: Tei was 
the centre of Ionia — each state being left at liberty to 

* The first time by Croesus. 

(170) 



BY THE PERSIANS. 81 

govern itself as if independent of the others. Such were 
the opinions of these two men. 

Harpagus having reduced Ionia, invaded the Carians, 
the Caunians, and the Lycians; leading with him the 
lonians and iEolians. 



[These Carians came to the continent from the islands 
where formerly they were the subjects of Minos, following his 
institutions, and were then called Leleges : and so far as I 
have been able to learn from ancient traditions, they paid no 
kind of taxes ; but as often as Minos required it, they manned 
his vessels ; and he, always successful in war, acquired ex- 
tensive territories, and rendered the Carians the most cele- 
brated of all the people of that age. To this people three 
inventions are attributed, which the Greeks have adopted, 
namely, the crest upon the helmet ; — symbols upon the shield ; 
and the leathern handle, by which it is held : for in former 
times the buckler was managed only by thongs, passing round 
the neck, and over the right arm. It was afterwards that the 
Carians, expelled from the islands by the Dorians and lonians, 
arrived upon the continent. This, at least, is the account 
given of this nation by the Cretans ; but they do not assent to 
it — believing themselves to be aborigines of the continent, and 
always to have borne the name by which at present they are 
known ; and in confirmation of their belief, they show at 
Mylassa an ancient temple of the Carian Jove, into which 
they admit none but their (ancient) kinsmen — the Mysians 
and Lydians ; for they affirm that Lydus and Mysus were the 
brothers of Cares ; on which account they hold communion in 
matters of religion with those two nations, while they 
exclude every other people, even though using the Carian 
tongue. 

The Caunians I believe to be aborigines; though they 
affirm themselves to have come from Crete. Either they have 
assimilated their language to that of the Carians or these have 
conformed to those ; — but which has actually happened I 
cannot certainly pronounce. In their institutions they differ 
(172) G 



82 THE REDUCTION OF IONIA 

widely from all men, and even from the Carians. It is deemed 
creditable among them for men, women, and children, to as- 
semble in companies — as age and friendship may determine — 
for the purpose of intoxication. They worshipped at first in 
temples dedicated to foreign deities ; but changing their mind 
on this subject, they resolved to serve none but the gods of 
their ancestors : the whole nation therefore, even the youths> 
took arms, and beating the air with their lances, advanced to 
the Calyndian mountains, declaring that they were expelling 
the strange gods from their country. These instances may 
serve as a sample of their manners. 

The Lycians came in ancient times from Crete, the whole 
of which island was formerly possessed by Barbarians. Sar- 
pedon and Minos, the sons of Europa, disputing for the sove- 
reignty of Crete, the latter prevailed, and expelled Sarpedon 
with his adherents, who being thus exiled, came into Asia, 
and settled upon the Milyadian territory ; — such was then the 
name of the country now occupied by the Lycians: — the 
Milyans were then called Solymians. For some time they 
were governed by Sarpedon, and were called at that time, as 
they are even now by some of their neighbours — Termilians. 
But Lycus, son of Pandion, having been driven from Athens 
by his brother JEgeus, came among the Termilians, and was 
received by Sarpedon ; and in course of time it happened that 
the name of this stranger was adopted by the people, who 
afterwards were called Lycians : — their laws are partly 
Cretan — partly Carian. One of their customs is entirely 
peculiar to themselves ; — that the children take the mother's, 
not the father's name. So if a Lycian is asked for his pe- 
digree, he gives the names of the mothers of the family, from 
one generation to another. And if a free woman marries a 
bondman, the children are reckoned free-born ; but when a 
free ditizen, even of the first rank, takes a foreign wife, or 
a woman of low condition, the children are ignoble.] 

The Carians without displaying any instance of valour, 
were reduced to servitude by Harpagus ; the same may 
be said not only of the Carians, but of all the Greeks 

(174) 



BY THE PERSIANS. 83 

settled in the country. For besides others, there are the 
Cnidians — a Lacedemonian colony, whose lands, Called 
Triopium, reach down to the coast. The Cnidian territory 
commences at the Peninsula of Bybassia, and a small part 
excepted* is surrounded by the sea ;* for towards the north 
it is washed by the Ceramian gulph, and on the south by 
the Sea of Syme and Rhodes* The small neck of landf 
— measuring about five stadia, the Cnidians attempted 
to cut through, while Harpagus was occupied in reducing 
Ionia ; — intending by this means to convert their territory 
into an island : — -all within this neck being their own, and 
having no connection, except by the Isthmus, with the 
continent. All hands were employed upon this work.. 
But the workmen were, as it seemed in a supernatural 
manner, wounded by splinters of the rock, on all parts of 
their bodies, and especially in the eyes. They sent therefore 
to Delphi, to inquire what it was opposed them* The 
Pythian, as the Cnidians report, thus replied— 

Nor fortify, not dig — for Heaven, 
Had, if it pleased, an island given. 

The Cnidians on receiving this answer, ceased from their 
digging, and when Harpagus arrived with his army, they 
surrendered without resistance. 

The inland country above Halicarhassus was inhabited 
by the Pedasiahs. When any misfortune impends over 
this people, or their neighbours, the priestess of Minerva 
acquires a great beard : this has happened on three several 
occasions* These alone, of all the inhabitants of Caria, 
withstood for any time the progress of Harpagus, or gave 
him any considerable trouble. They fortified mount Lida ; 
but were ere long vanquished*. 

* A geographical difficulty of little importance embarrasses the 
rendering of this passage. I have followed the Latin version. 
+ That which connected them with the continent. 

(175) g 2 



84 DESCRIPTION OF BABYLON. 

But the Lycians, when Harpagus arrived in the plains 
of Xanthus, came forth against him, and fighting — a few 
with many, gave signal displays of valour. But being 
defeated, and driven into their city, they brought 
into the citadel their wives, their children, their goods, 
and their slaves, and then set fire to the fortress — con^ 
suming all together. Having so done, they bound them- 
selves mutually by a tremendous oath, and going forth, 
fought till all were slain. Those Lycians who now call 
themselves Xanthians, are, with the exception of forty 
families who were at that time absent from their homes, 
and so survived — strangers who have since settled in that 
place. Thus was Xanthus taken by Harpagus; and 
nearly in the same manner Caunus also ; for the Caunians 
imitated, in great measure, the example of the Lycians. 



SECTION XII. 

DESCRIPTION OF BABYLON. 

While, as we have related, Harpagus ravaged the Lower 
Asia, Cyrus in person vanquished without exception every 
nation of the Upper. The greater number of these con- 
quests we pass unnoticed, narrating those only which were 
attended with the greatest difficulty, or which are in them- 
selves the most worthy of being recorded. Having re- 
duced all the continent (of Asia Minor) to obedience, he 
attacked the Assyrians. 

Assyria contains many large cities; but of these 
Babylon, to which, after the destruction of Nineveh, 
the seat of government was removed, is by far the most 
renowned, and the most strongly fortified. Babylon is 

(178) 



DESCRIPTION OF BABYLON. 85 

situated in an extensive plain. Each side of the city, 
which forms a square, measures a hundred and twenty 
stadia,* making the entire circuit of the city four hundred 
and eighty stadia: — such is the magnitude of this city 
Babylon ! and in magnificence also it surpassed every 
city of which we have any knowledge. It is surrounded 
by a trench, deep, wide, and full of water. Within this 
is a wall, the width of which is fifty royal cubits, and its 
height two hundred cubits : — the royal cubit exceeds the 
common measure by three fingers' breadth. It is proper I 
should say in what manner the earth removed from the trench 
was disposed of; and how the wall was constructed. The 
earth as fast as it was removed from the trench, was con- 
verted into bricks, and baked in furnaces: when thus 
prepared, melted bitumen was used instead of mortar ; 
and between every thirtieth course of bricks there was 
inserted a layer of reeds. The sides of the trench were 
first lined with brickwork, and then the wall raised in the 
manner described. On the upper edges of the wall, and 
opposite one to another, were constructed turrets : — be- 
tween these turrets a space was left wide enough for a 
chariot and four horses to pass and turn. In the walls 
were one hundred gates, all of brass, with posts and upper 
lintels of the same. Eight days' journey from Babylon is 
a city named Is, near which runs' a small river of the same 
name, discharging itself into the Euphrates; this river 
brings down with its waters clots of bitumen (asphaltum) 
in large quantities. From this source was derived the 
bitumen used in cementing the walls of Babylon. 

Such are the fortifications of Babylon : — the city is 
divided into two portions by the river Euphrates, which 
runs through the midst of it. This river rises, in Armenia, 
and throughout its course is wide, deep, and swift : it emp- 
ties itself into the Red Sea (Persian Gulph). Each of the 

* About fifteen miles. See Note. 

180) g 3 



86 DESCRIPTION OF BABYLON. 

city walls is produced to the river, where it makes an 
angle ; and, with a coating of burnt brick, lines the sides 
of the river. The city is filled with houses* of three and 
four stories, forming streets in straight lines, and runing 
parallel with each other : — the cross streets opening upon 
the river through as many smaller brazen gates, placed in 
the breast work of the river walls. Within the principal 
wall just mentioned, is a second, not much inferior to the 
first in strength, though less in width. In the centre of 
each portion of the city is an inclosed space— the one 
occupied by the royal palace, a building of vast extent 
and great strength : — in the other, stands the temple of 
Jupiter Belus, with its brazen gates — remaining in my 
time: it is a square structure, each side measures two 
stadia. Within the enclosure is erected a solid tower, 
measuring a stadium both in width and depth : upon this 
tower is raised another, and then another, and another ; 
making eight in all. The ascent is by a path which is 
formed on the outside of the towers : midway in the ascent 
is a resting place, furnished with easy chairs, in which 
those who ascend repose themselves, On the summit of 
the topmost tower stands a large temple ; and in this tem-- 
ple is a great couch, handsomely fitted up ; and near it 
stands a golden table : no statue whatever is erected in the 
temple, nor does any man ever pass the night there ; but 
a woman only, chosen from the people by the god, as the 
Chaldeans affirm, who are the priests of the temple. The 
same persons say — though I give no credit to the story, 
that the god himself comes to the temple, and reposes on 
the bed, in like manner as at Thebes in Egypt ; where 
also, in the temple of Jupiter, a woman passes the night. 
A similar custom is observed at Pataris in Lycia : where 
there is at times an oracle, on which Occasions the priestess 
is shut up by night in the temple. 

* See Note. 

(182) 



DESCRIPTION OP BABYLON. 87 

Within the precincts of the temple at Babylon, there is 
a smaller sacred edifice on the ground ; within which there 
is an immense golden statue of Jupiter, in a sitting pos- 
ture : around the statue are large tables, which, with the 
steps and throne, are all of gold, and, as the Chaldeans 
affirm, contain eight hundred talents of gold. Without 
this edifice is a golden altar : there is also another altar 
of great size, on which are offered full grown animals : — 
upon the golden altar it is not lawful to offer any sacri- 
fices except sucklings. Once in every year, when the 
festival of this god is celebrated, the Chaldeans burn upon 
the greater altar a thousand talents of frankincense. 
There was also, not long since, in this sacred inclosure, a 
statue of solid gold, twelve cubits in height ; at least so the 
Chaldeans affirmed : — I did not myself see it. This figure 
Darius Hystaspes would fain have taken ; but dared 
not execute his wishes ; but his son Xerxes not only took 
it, but put to death the priest, who endeavoured to 
prevent its removal. Such was the magnificence of this 
temple, which contained also many private offerings. 

Of this Babylon there were several monarchs — as I 
shall mention in my history of the Assyrians, who adorned 
the city and its temples. Among these, two women must 
be mentioned: — the former, named Semiramis, reigned 
five generations before the latter. This queen raised an From 
embankment worthy of admiration, through the plain, to ^. C. 
confine the river, which heretofore often spread over the to 

733. 

level like a lake. The latter of these two queens, named 

Nitocris, excelled the former in intelligence : she left mo- 

' ° From 

numents, some of which I must describe. Seeing the B.C. 
Medes already possessed of extensive empire, and rest- t0 
lessly extending their power, by taking city after city — 56l# 
among which was Nineveh ; she resolved in good time to 
secure herself against them in the best manner possible. 
In the first place therefore, as the river Euphrates ran in 
a straight course through the city, she formed excavations 
(186) g 4 



88 DESCRIPTION OF BABYLON. 

at a distance above it ; by which means its course became 
so tortuous, that it three times passed a certain town of 
Assyria, called Ardericca ; — travellers from our sea,* in 
descending the Euphrates towards Babylon, three times 
arrive at that town in the course of three days. She also 
raised both banks of the river to an amazing height and 
thickness. At some distance above Babylon, and near the 
river, she dug a reservoir in the marsh, of such depth 
as to drain it. The width of this excavation was such as, 
to make its circuit 420 stadia. The earth removed from 
it was taken to raise the banks of the river : this done she 
brought stones, with which the sides of the lake were 
lined. Both these works — the diverting of the river, and 
the reservoir, were formed with the intention of rendering 
the current less rapid by its many windings, which broke 
its force, and at the same time made the navigation more 
circuitous ; so that those who descended towards Babylon 
by water, might have to make a long cirouit around the 
lake. These works were effected on that side which was 
exposed to the inroads of the Medes, and where the dis- 
tance between her dominions and theirs was the least ; for 
she wished to cut off all communication with them, and to 
keep them in ignorance of her movements. 

Thus did this princess raise from the depths a forti- 
fication, within which she was included. The city being 
divided into two portions by the river, in former times, 
whoever wished to pass from the one to the other, was 
obliged to take a boat, whioh manifestly was a great in- 
convenience. This defect she supplied : — when she had 
dug the lake in the marsh, she availed herself of the 
occasion to construct another monument also, by which 
her fame will be perpetuated. She caused stones of great 
magnitude to be hewn ; and when they were ready — the 



Persons from this sea—the Mediterranean— that is travellers from * 
Greece. 

am 



DESCRIPTION OF BABYLON. 89 

lake being empty, she turned the waters of the Euphrates 
into it ; which, as it filled, left the old channel dry. Then 
she both lined the sides of the river, and the descents from 
the gates, with burnt bricks, in like manner as the city 
walls ; and with the stones already mentioned, she con- 
structed, as near the middle of the city as possible, a 
bridge ; binding the stones together with iron and lead. 
During the day, planks of wood were extended from pier 
to pier, so as to form a pathway : these were withdrawn at 
night, to prevent the people from passing over to plunder 
each other. This bridge was, as we have said, formed by 
withdrawing the water of the Euphrates into the artifical 
lake : when completed, the river was restored to its ancient 
channel : the propriety of this mode of proceeding then 
became apparent ; by means of which the citizens obtained 
the accommodation of a bridge. 

This same queen also executed the following machi- 
nation. She constructed for herself a tomb, aloft, upon 
a gate in one of the most frequented ways of the city : 
upon the sepulchre she engraved this inscription — ' If any 
one of my successors, the kings of Babylon, shall lack 
money, let him open the sepulchre, and take what trea- 
sures he pleases. But let him beware of opening it from 
any other cause than necessity ; for in such a case it shall 
not turn to his advantage.' This sepulchre remained 
undisturbed till Darius ascended the throne. To this 
king it seemed a grievance both that this gate should 
remain useless, and that the wealth deposited in it, and 
which invited research, should not be appropriated. The 
gate was not used because no one could pass through it 
without having a dead body over his head. He therefore 
opened the tomb, in which he found — of treasures indeed 
nothing; — but the corpse, and an inscription to this 
effect; — 'If thou hadst not been insatiably eager for 
riches, and greedy of filthy lucre, thou wouldst not have 
(187) 



90 THE FALL OF BABYLON. 

opened the depositary of the dead.' So much for this 
queen, and the reports that have been handed down 
concerning her. 



SECTION XIII. 

THE FALL OF BABYLON. 

It was against the son of this woman that Cyrus made 
war: he was named like his father Labynetus, and 
reigned over the Assyrians, When the great king* goes 
out to battle, he is attended by ample provisions and cattle, 
drawn from the home stock; and even water from the 
Choaspian spring at Susa, of which alone the king drinks, 
is carried about for his use : for he can taste no other 
stream. This Choaspian water, after having been boiled, 
is put into vases of silver, which are transported in four- 
wheeled waggons, drawn by mules, following him wher- 
ever he goes, 

Cyrus advancing towards Babylon, arrived at the river 
Gyndes, which rising in the Matienian hills, and running 
through the country of the Dardanians, (or Darnians) emp- 
ties itself into the Tigris ; and this river, passing by the 
city Opis, discharges its waters into the Red Sea. When 
Cyrus attempted to pass this river Gyndes, which could 
only be done by boats, one of the white horses, called 
sacred, full of mettle, plunged into the stream, and en- 
deavoured to reach the opposite bank ; but being sub- 



* The appellation by which the Persian kings were distinguished. 
Thus the Ottoman emperor is called the Grand Seignior. 

0*0) 



THE FALL OF BABYLON. 91 

merged in the current, it was.borne away. Cyrus enraged 
at the river for this injury, threatened to reduce it so low 
that in future women should ford it with ease — not wetting 
their knees. Having uttered this threat, he delayed the 
progress of his army towards Babylon, and dividing his 
forces into two bodies, measured out one hundred and 
eighty channels to be cut from both banks of the river ; 
thus diverting the Gyndes on all sides. He enjoined 
upon his army the work of digging these trenches, and by 
their numbers they oompleted it ; but the whole summer 
was spent there in the labour. Cyrus having in this man- 
ner punished the river Gyndes, by distributing its waters 
into three hundred and sixty trenches, as soon as the next 
spring appeared, advanced towards Babylon. The Baby- 
lonians coming out in battle array, waited his approach : 
when he drew nigh to the city they engaged him ; but 
being defeated, retired within the walls, Some time 
before, well knowing the restless intentions of Cyrus, 
and seeing him attack one nation after another, they had 
brought into the city an abundance of corn for many years. 
They therefore disregarded the siege. But Cyrus, beset 
with difficulties, saw a long time pass away without his 
making any progress towards the accomplishment of his 
object. 

At length, either at the suggestion of some one else, or 
from a thought of his own, he resorted to the following 
means : — He disposed the whole of his army, by placing 
one part above the city, where the river enters it, and 
another part below, where it makes its exit, commanding 
them as soon as they should perceive the river to be suffi- 
ciently shallow to enter by that way. This order being 
given, he himself went off with the inferior troops of the 
army. Arriving at the lake, he did what had been done 
before by the queen of Babylon in the marsh; for by mak- 
ing a trench from the river to the empty reservoir, he 
diverted the water from the ancient channel, till it so far 
(191) 



1)2 WEALTH AND MANNERS 

subsided as to become fordable. As soon as this hap- 
pened, the Persians who had been appointed for this 
purpose, entered Babylon by the bed of the river ; — the 
water of which was little more than knee deep. If the 
Babylonians had been before apprised of the intentions of 
Cyrus, or if they had learned at the moment what he was 
doing, they would not have suffered the Persians to enter 
the city — nor would they have perished so shamefully ; for 
had they closed all the gates by the river's side, and 
ascended the walls which ran along it, they might have 
taken them as in a net. But the Persians came upon 
them quite unexpectedly. And from the great extent of 
the city; — as it has been affirmed by some of the inha- 
bitants, those who dwelt in the outskirts of the city, were 
made prisoners before the people in the centre of Babylon 
knew that the place was taken. But, as it happened, 
they were celebrating a festival, and were dancing and 
538," feasting when they learned what had happened. Thus 
was Babylon the first time taken. 



SECTION XIV. 

WEALTH AND MANNERS OF THE BABYLONIANS. 

[The wealth of the Babylonians I shall set forth by several 
instances, and among others by this : — Besides the tribute 
which is paid to the Great King — all the countries under his 
dominion are divided into parts to supply provisions for his 
household and his army ; — each part furnishing food for one 
month : — now the region of Babylonia is charged with the 
supply for four months out of the twelve; the remaining 
eight months being provided for by the whole of Asia. Thus 

(192) 



OF THE BABYLONIANS, !)3 

it appears that this Assyrian region, in produce, bears the, 
proportion of one-third to the entire extent of Asia.* The 
government of this region (these governments are called by 
the Persians satrapies) is by far the richest of all the pro- 
vinces : so that. Tritantajchmes, son of Artabazus, to whom 
this government was. given by the king, received every day a 
full measure of silver : — this Persian measure contains an Attic 
medimnus, and-three cheenices. Eight hundred horses also for 
the king's private 'use, besides those intended for war, are 
trained in this district, and sixteen thousand mares. So great 
a number of Indian dogs is maintained, that four large villa- 
ges in the plain pay no other tribute than that of supplying a 
stipulated quantity of food for them. — Such are the revenues 
of the Satrap of Babylon. 

Little rain falls in Assyria; but the -corn receives its supply 
at the root; being fed with water for its nourishment from 
the river, till the ear is ripened. This fertilization does not 
take place, as in Egypt, by the river overflowing the fields ; 
but the lands are irrigated by the hand, or by pumps : — for the 
whole region of Babylonia is, like Egypt, every where inter- 
sected by trenches. The largest of these canals is navigable, 
and turning towards the south-east, connects the Euphrates 
with another river — the Tigris, on which Nineveh once stood. 
This region is of all lands we know the richest in the gifts 
of Ceres. But it does not afford any produce from such 
trees as the fig, the vine, or the olive. Yet so favour- 
able is the soil to the growth of corn, that it ordinarily 
yields two hundred fold, and sometimes three hundred. The 
leaves, both of wheat and barley, in this region, are four 
fingers broad. As for millet and sesame, (Indian corn,) the 
plant becomes a tree of such magnitude that, though I have 
personal knowledge of the fact, I forbear to mention its size — 
feeling assured that to those who have never visited the pro- 
vince of Babylonia, what I have already said of its produce 
will seem incredible. They use no oil except that which is 
made from sesame. Palm trees grow throughout the plain, 

* The Persian dominions in Asia. 

(193) 



94 WEALTH AND MANNERS 

which, for the most part, bear fruit ; and from this fruit is 
prepared a kind of bread, as well as wine and honey. These 
trees are reared in the manner of figs — the fruikfulness of the 
trees being secured by an artificial process, for the blossom 
containing the fly is tied to the fruit-bearing buds, by which 
means the fruit ripens without falling ; — for the fly is found in 
the palm as well as in the wild fig.* 

Nothing, the city itself excepted, more excited my admi- 
ration than what I am about to mention :— I mean the vessels 
which arrive at Babylon on the Euphrates : — they are round, 
and all formed of skins. The Armenians who inhabit the 
country above Assyria, construct these vessels, framing the 
ribs of willow branches, over which they stretch skins : nor 
do they distinguish the stem from the stern; — the boat being 
as round as a shield : the inside is lined with a matting of 
reeds. These vessels are borne along by the stream, loaded 
with goods — principally palm wine, carried in earthen jars* 
The course of the boat is directed by two men, standing erect, 
each furnished with a long pole, with which the one pulls, 
while the other pushes. Vessels of great size, as well as small 
boats, are constructed in this manner ; some carrying as much 
as five thousand talents burden. In every one of these ves- 
sels is an ass, and in the larger several. When therefore they 
reach Babylon, and have discharged their cargoes, they sell 
the frame-work and matting of the vessel, and loading the ass 
with the skins, return to Armenia; for the current of the 
river is too strong for it to be navigated upwards. For this 
reason the vessels are framed of leather instead of wood. 
When the asses reach Armenia again, new vessels are con- 
structed in the same manner as before. — So much for these 
boats. 

The dress of the Babylonians is as follows : — they wear a 
linen tunic, reaching to the feet, and upon this a woollen gar- 
ment ; throwing a short white cloak over all. Their shoes are 
peculiar to the country ; but not unlike the Boeotian buskim 
They let the \ air grow, and bind the head with a turban 

* See Note. 

(195) 



OF THE BABYLONIANS. 95 

/ 

(mitre). They anoint the whole body. Every one possesses 
a signet, and carries a wrought staff,* upon the top of which 
is carved an apple — a rose — a lily — an eagle, or some similar 
object: for custom does not permit them to carry a staff, 
without a device. — Such are the habiliments of the Baby- 
lonians. 

The following usages formerly prevailed among them ; and 
this which I am about to mention, was in my opinion, very 
Wise : — it prevails also, as I have been informed, among the 
Enetians, a people of Illyria.f In every town, once in the 
year, all the marriageable young women were assembled in 
one place ; around them stood the men : the public crier then 
put each of the Women, separately, up to sale. He began 
With the most beautiful, for whom a great price was obtained ; 
then he took the one whose charms were next in degree ; and 
so on — each being sold on the condition that she was to be 
taken in marriage. The richer Babylonians, of course, who 
wished to marry, bid against each other to obtain the hand- 
somest women : while the poorer citizens, who in seeking 
wives cared lfess for beauty than for gold, took the ugly girls, 
with the money : for the cryer, having completed the sale of 
the beauties, brought forward one of the most deformed; — or 
one who was maimed, if such should be there- — offering her at 
a very low price to any one who would take her to wife ; and 
he who consented received her with a dowry. Thus the hand- 
some women obtained portions for the ugly and the deformed. 
No man was permitted to marry his daughter to whomsoever he 
Would ; nor might any one lead away the woman he had pur- 
chased until he had given security to marry her ; or, in case 
of their not agreeing, to return the dowiy. It was permitted 
to any inhabitant of the neighbouring districts to attend and 
purchase a Wife. Such was the wise law which formerly 
prevailed ; but it has now become obsolete. Of late they 
have devised other means for defending their daughters from 
injury and abduction. But, in fact, since the Babylonians 

* (TKijirTpoy x £l poiroiijrov — a manufactured sceptre. 
t Afterwards called Venetians. 

(196) 



,% THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS 

have lost their liberties and wealth, they have, undeT the 
pressure of want, resorted to nefarious practices in disposing of 
their daughters. 

They have also another excellent practice. — They have no 
physicians by profession ; but those who are diseased being 
brought into the public places, whoever passes the sick man, 
advises with him concerning his disorder ; and if he has him- 
self at any time laboured under the same complaint, or knows 
one afflicted in the same way — recommends the Remedies by 
which he himself or others were cured. To pass a sick person 
in silence without inquiring his complaint, is deemed a breach 
of duty. The dead are preserved in honey. The funeral 
lamentations of the Babylonians are similar to those heard in 
Egypt. In some of their domestic usages they are — like the 
Arabians — peculiarly exact; yet they observe a most shameful 
custom, which though it is said afterwards to preserve female 
virtue, really degrades every woman to a level with the most 
abandoned of the sex. So much for the manners of the Baby- 
lonians. There are among them three tribes who live entirely 
upon fish — which they dry in the sun as soon as taken ; when 
dried, the fish are thrown into a mortar, pounded with a 
pestle, and passed through a cloth : this powder when used, 
is either kneeded into cakes (puddings) or baked as bread.] 



SECTION XV. 

THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS AGAINST THE 
MASSAGETES. 

Cyrus having subdued the Babylonians, indulged the 
desire of reducing the Massagetes under his power; — a 
people said to be both numerous and powerful, inhabiting 
a region east of the river Araxes, and opposite to the 

(201) 



AGAINST THE MASSAGETES. 97 

Issedonians. — Some persons affirm that they are of the 
Scythian race. 

[The river Araxes* is, according to some, larger, according 
to others, smaller than the Ister, (Danube.) It is said to con- 
tain many islands, scarcely inferior in magnitude to Lesbos, 
inhabited by men who, during the summer, live upon roots of 
all kinds, which they dig up : and for winter provision they 
collect and lay up the fruit of trees. Among their trees there 
is affirmed to be one species, the fruit of which has a peculiar 
property; — the people assembling around a fire, throw the 
fruit into the flames, and by the fumes emitted as it burns, 
they are intoxicated as completely as the Greeks are with 
wine : — the more is thrown in, the more inebriated do those 
become who sit around, till at length they begin to dance and 
sing. The river Araxes, as well as the Gyndes, which Cyrus 
drained by three hundred and sixty trenches, rises in the 
Matienian hills; it empties itself by forty mouths, all of 
which, except one, run into swamps and marshes. In these 
marshes there are said to be men subsisting upon raw fish, and 
clothing themselves in the skins of seals. The one mouth of 
the Araxes runs in a pure stream into the Caspian sea. The 
Caspian'! is a sea by itself not communicating with any other ; 
for the entire sea navigated by the Greeks, and the sea beyond 
the Pillars (of Hercules,) called the Atlantic, and the Red 
sea, are all one and the same ; (i. e. communicate with each 
other) but the Caspian is separate and alone ; its length is 
equal to fifteen days' passage by an oared vessel ; its width, at 
the widest part, is equal to eight days' voyage. On the wes- 
tern side of this sea is extended mount Caucasus— of all moun- 
tains the greatest and the most lofty. Caucasus contains many 
numerous tribes of men, differing from each other ; but who, 
for the most part, subsist upon wild fruits. Among the trees 
of this region there is said to be one, the leaves 6f which, when 
bruised and mixed with water, afford a die, with which these 
people paint the figures of animals on their dress; — these 
figures do not wash out ; but always remain fixt in the wool as 
(203) H 



98 THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS 

fresh as at first. The manners of these people are little more 
refined than those of beasts.] 

The Caspian is then bounded towards the west by 
Mount Caucasus: — on its eastern shore it has a plain, 
to which the eye perceives no limit. Of this boundless 
level the Massagetes, whom Cyrus wished to invade, 
occupy no small portion. Many causes excited and urged 
him to undertake this war. The first was the impression 
he entertained — derived from the circumstances of his 
birth, that he was something more than human. The 
second — was the good fortune which had hitherto at- 
tended his wars ; for in whatever direction Cyrus had 
carried his arms, no nation had been able to escape his 
power. The Massagetes having lost iheir king, were at 
this time governed by a queen, whose name was Tomyris. 
To this queen Cyrus sent an embassy, wooing her for his 
wife. But Tomyris knowing well that it was not her, but 
the Massagetian throne that he wooed, prohibited their ap- 
proach. Upon this Cyrus, finding that he should not suc- 
ceed by fraud, advanced to the Araxes, and openly made 
war upon the Massagetes — constructing bridges across 
the river for the passage of his army. He also built 
towers upon the vessels (which formed the bridges) for the 
passage of his troops. 

While engaged in this labour, Tomyris sent a herald to 
Cyrus with this message ; — " O king of the Medes, cease 
to hasten what you are hastening; — for you know not 
whether the completion of it shall be of any service to 
you. Leave off therefore, and rule your own subjects, 
and bear to see us reigning over those whom we govern. 
But if you will not admit these counsels ; — if any thing is 
better to you than to remain in tranquillity; — if you so 
earnestly desire to try your strength upon the Massagetes, 
Come — trouble yourself no longer with the toil of joining 
the river ; and while we retire three days' march from the 

(206) 



AGAINST THE MASSAGETES. 99 

river, do you pass over into our country. Or if you had 
rather receive us in your's, then do you retire while we 
advance." On hearing this Cyrus called together all the 
Persian chiefs, to whom he proposed the business, asking 
their opinion what he should do. They all concurred in 
advising him to receive Tomyris and her army in their own 
(the Persian) territory. 

But Croesus the Lydian, being present, disapproved of 
this advice, and proposed an opposite plan, which he thus 
stated; — " O king, at the first I professed that, as God 
gave me up to you, if ever I saw a calamity impending 
over your house, I would use my utmost efforts to avert it. 
Now my misfortunes, though to me they have been 
grievous, have taught me experience. If indeed you 
think yourself and your men immortal, there is no need 
that I should declare my opinion; but if you know that 
you are only a man, and that those whom you command 
are men — then learn that human affairs turn on awheel, 
which in its revolutions suffers not the same individuals 
always to be prosperous. As to the business now before 
us, my opinion is the reverse of theirs whose advice you 
have heard. For if we were to await the enemy in our 
own country, you would incur this danger ; — should you 
be defeated, you utterly lose the empire, for it is ma- 
nifest that if the Massagetes are victorious, they will not 
retreat, but will invade your provinces. On the other 
hand, if you conquer, your victory will not be so advan- 
tageous as if you had passed over into their territory, and 
were to pursue the vanquished and retreating Massegetes. 
This I oppose to the contrary opinion — that if you con- 
quer you remove every obstacle which might prevent your 
advancing to the very heart of the dominions of Tomyris. 
And besides the reasons I have here given, it would be a 
dishonour intolerable for Cyrus the son of Cambyses to 
retire from the country before a woman. My opinion 
therefore is that, passing the river, we should advance 
(207) - H 2 



100 THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS 

as far as they retreat. Arid then that it be attempted to 
overcome them in the following manner : — As I am in- 
formed the Massagetes are unacquainted with the Persian 
good fare, and are destitute of the chief commodities of 
life. Let therefore sheep be slain and prepared in abun- 
dance for these men, on which to feast in our camp ; — 
moreover let cups without sparing be filled with unmixed 
wine, and provisions of all sorts.be added. When this is 
done, let the inferior troops of the army be left behind, 
while the rest retires quickly towards the river. If I am 
not mistaken they, seeing so many good things, will betake 
themselves to the tables, and will leave to us an oppor- 
tunity of effecting a signal exploit." 

Thus were opinions opposed : — Cyrus rejecting the first, 
adopted that of Croesus ; and announced to Tomyris that 
she should retire while he crossed the river and advanced 
towards her : this she did as she had promised. Then 
Cyrus, delivering Croesus to the care of his son Cam- 
byses, to whom he had assigned the kingdom, with many 
injunctions to hold him in honour, and to treat him kindly 
if his expedition against the Massagetes should be unpros- 
perous, dismissed them both to Persia, while he with his 
army crossed the river. 

The very night after he passed the Araxes, and re- 
posed within the Massagetian territory, Cyrus saw a 
vision: — he thought, in his sleep, he saw the eldest of 
the sons of Hystaspes, having wings on his shoulders, 
with one of which he overshadowed Asia, and with the 
other Europe. This Hystaspes, son of Arsames, of the 
Achaemenidian family, had sons, of whom the eldest, 
named Darius, was then scarcely twenty years of age, 
and was left in Persia, not being old enough to serve in 
the army. When he awoke, Cyrus weighed the vision 
in his mind, thinking it to be of grave import. Calling 
therefore for Hystaspes, he took him apart, and thus 
addressed him ; — " Hystaspes ! your son is caught, con- 

(209) 



AGAINST THE MASSAGETES. 101 

spiring against me and my government. I will make 
known to you by what means I know this certainly. The 
gods watch over me, and reveal to me beforehand what- 
ever impends. Now the very last night, while I slept, I 
saw the eldest of your sons, having wings on his shoul- 
ders, with one of which he overshadowed Asia, and with 
the other Europe. From this vision therefore I cannot 
but believe that he is forming designs against me. You 
therefore, return as quickly as possible to Persia, and as 
soon as I return, having completed this conquest, present 
your son to me that he may be examined." 

Thus spoke Cyrus, believing that Darius was conspiring 
against him. But what the divinity signified to him, was, 
that he should die in that place, and that his kingdom 
should pass over to Darius. Hystaspes thus replied to 
him — "O king! may no Persian ever conspire against 
you; — but if there be such a one, let him quickly 
perish; for you it is who, from being slaves, have made 
the Persians free ; and from being, ruled by others, have 
given them dominion over all. If however a vision has 
informed you that my son is plotting against you, I will 
deliver him into your hands, to do with him as you 
please." Having thus spoken, Hystaspes recrossed the 
Araxes, and proceeded to Persia to guard his son Darius, 
for Cyrus. 

Cyrus advancing a day's march beyond the river, exe- 
cuted the plan proposed by Croesus : after which, he, with 
that part of the army that was. composed of Persians 
only, retired behind the Araxes, leaving the useless 
troops in the camp. A third part of the Massagetian 
army advanced and put to the sword, after some resistance, 
those whom Cyrus had left: then seeing the feast, they sat 
down to regale themselves ; and when they had partaken of 
victuals and wine to the full, fell asleep. The Persians then 
coming up, slaughtered great numbers of them, and took 
others captive: among these was the son of the queen 
(211) h3 



102 THE EXPEDITION OF CYRUS 

Tomyris, named Spargapises, who had commanded the 
Massagetian army. When she was informed of the fate 
of the army, and of what had befallen her son, she des- 
patched a herald to Cyrus, with these words : — "Cyrus, 
insatiable of blood ! be not intoxicated by this success, as by 
the fruit of the vine, with which, when yourselves are filled, 
you become so mad that you give vent to a torrent of foul 
language. Deceived with this poison, but not overcome 
in battle by manly valour, you have indeed vanquished my 
son. Now therefore take good advice from me; — restore 
me my son ; — retire without loss from this region, content 
with having abused a third of the Massagetian army. If 
you will not do this, I swear by the sun — the lord of the 
Massagetians, that, greedy as you are, I will assuredly 
glut you with blood." 

Cyrus set at naught this message. As for Spargapises, 
son of queen Tomyris, as soon as he was freed from the 
effects of the wine, and learned his misfortune, he be- 
sought Cyrus that he might be loosened from his bonds : 
this being granted, the instant that his hands were free, 
he destroyed himself. — Such was the end of this man. 
Tomyris seeing that Cyrus did not yield to her proposals, 
collected all her forces, and advanced against him. This 
battle, in my judgment, was the most valiantly fought of 
any that has taken place among the Barbarians. Accord- 
ing to my information, it was conducted in the following 
manner. — At first, it is said, the two armies stood at a 
distance, and discharged their arrows, then, when these 
were spent, they encountered each other with their spikes 
and daggers : in this manner the fight was sustained a long 
time, neither party thinking of flight : at length the Mas- 
sagetes prevailed, and a great part of the Persian army 
was slaughtered on the field. — Cyrus himself was slain, 
after a reign of thirty years, save one. Tomyris having 
filled a vessel with human blood, caused the body of Cyrus 
to be sought for among the slaughtered Persians : — when 

(214) 



AGAINST THE MASSAGETES. 103 

it was found, she flung the head into the vessel, and hav- 
ing thus mutilated the corpse, uttered these words— 
" Thou hast undone me, though I survive, and have con- 
quered thee ; for thou hast taken (from me) my son by 
fraud. It remains for me — as I threatened— to glut thee 
with blood." Many other accounts of the death of Cyrus 
are abroad,, but this seemed to me the most probable. 

[The dress and mode of life of the Massagetes are similar 
to those of the Scythians : their armies consist both of horse 
and foot; and they are accustomed to fight with bows, 
spikes, and battle-axes; — all their weapons being furnished 
either with gold or brass : — for the spear-heads and axes are 
formed of the latter metal ; while their helmets, girdles, and 
arm-chains are adorned with gold.. In like manner also their 
horses wore breast-plates of brass, and had their bridles, bits, 
and housings set with gold. They are unacquainted with 
iron and silver ;. neither of which are found in their country : 
but of brass and gold there is an abundancei. Some customs 
erroneously attributed by the Greeks to the Scythians (in 
general) are observed only by the Massagetes. Among these,. 
is the abuse of the laws of marriage; These people do not 
fix a certain limit to human life; but when any one is ad- 
vanced in years, all his neighbours assemble and kill him, and 
with him also cattle: then cooking the flesh of all together, they 
feast upon it ; and this they deem the happiest of all deaths. 
One who dies of disease they do not devour ; but bury him — 
thinking the greatest possible misfortune has befallen him, 
inasmuch as it was not his lot to be immolated. They sow 
not ; but subsist on their flocks, and upon fish, of which last 
the river Araxes affords them an abundant supply. They are 
drinkers of milk. Of all the gods, they worship only the sun, 
to which they sacrifice horses ;— giving this reason for the 
practice — that the swiftest of mortals ought to be assigned to 
the swiftest of the gods.] 



(216) H 4 



104 ACCESSION OF CAMBYSES. 



BOOK II. 



EUTERPE. 



SECTION I. 

ACCESSION OF CAMBYSES. — DESCRIPTION OF EGYPT. 

Cyrus being dead, was succeeded in the kingdom by 
Cambyses, his son, whose mother was Cassandane, daugh- 
ter of Pharnaspes. She died before Cyrus, and was 
lamented by him with great grief; he commanded also 
all his subjects to make lamentations for her. This Cam- 
byses considered the Ionians and ^Eolians to be slaves, 
inherited by him from his father. When therefore he 
made preparation to invade Egypt, he led forth, not 
only his other subjects, but these Greeks also, who were 
under his sway. 

[The Egyptians, before the reign of Psammetichus, were 
wont to think themselves the most ancient of all nations. But 
this king, wishing to discover what people were really the first, 
determined in favour of the Phrygians ; next to whom were 
the Egyptians. Psammetichus having in vain sought the 
means of resolving this question relative to the antiquity of 
nations, at length devised the following method. — He took 
two new-born children of persons in humble life, and com- 

(2) 



DESCRIPTION OP EGYPT. 105 

mitted them to the care of a shepherd, to be brought up 
where the flocks were fed ;— commanding that they should 
never hear the human voice. They were to be placed in a 
remote hut by themselves : at certain times a she goat was to 
be brought to them, by which they were to be suckled ; — the 
shepherd only waiting upon them. Fsammetichus made these 
arrangements, wishing to hear what articulate sound — amidst 
their infantile cries, they would first utter. This was accom- 
plished ; for after the shepherd had kept the children, accord- 
ing to his injunctions, about two years, one day as he opened 
the door of the hut and entered, they both crawling towards 
his feet, and extending their hands, uttered the word Becus. 
At first the shepherd kept silence ; but after a while, as the 
children continued, when he attended upon them, to repeat 
the same word, he reported it to his sovereign, who commanded 
them to be brought into his presence. Having himself heard 
them, Fsammetichus next inquired what people used this 
sound in their language : and he was informed that, among 
the Phrygians, it is the name of bread. Thus convinced, 
after duly weighing the matter, the Egyptians concluded 
the Phrygians to be a more ancient people than themselves. 

S uch is the story I received from the priests of Vulcan at 
Memphis. The Greeks relate, among many other idle tales, 
that Psammetichus cut out the tongues of two women, to 
whom he committed the children to be nursed. Other accounts 
also I heard while conversing with the priests of Vulcan at 
Memphis; and wishing to know if their reports would co- 
incide with such as I might elsewhere collect, I passed, both 
to Thebes and Heliopolis ; — the people of which latter city 
are said to be the most learned of all the Egyptians. As to 
the accounts I received relative to matters of religion, I 
am not disposed to repeat them, except so far as to mention 
the names (of their gods.) For I am of opinion that, on 
subjects ef this kind, one man knows as much as another. —f~ 
I shall only therefore refer to these things when compelled 
to do so by the course of my narrative. As for human 
affairs— in the following particulars they all agreed.— They 
affirmed that Mie Egyptians were the first of mankind who 
(4) 



100* DESCRIPTION OF EGYPT. 

determined the annual revolution of the sun;*— distributing 
its seasons into twelve parts : — these discoveries they are said 
to have made by means of the stars ; and in my opinion they 
have displayed, in this instance, much more skill than the 
Greeks, who, to rectify the year, insert an intercalary month 
every third year ; but the Egyptians, reckoning their months 
at thirty days each, add, every year, five days to the number ; 
by which means their year comes round always to the same 
point. 

They affirm that the Egyptians first fixed the designations- 
of the twelve gods;f and that the Greeks borrowed these 
titles from them. Moreover, that they first dedicated to these 
deities altars, statues, and temples ; and first also sculptured 
animals in stone. These claims they establish, for the 
most part, by palpable proofs. The first man + who reigned 
in Egypt was named Menes. In his time the whole of Egypt, 
except the region of Thebais, was a marsh; — no land being to 
be seen below the lake of Moeris, which is now a distance of 
seven days' sailing from the sea, up the river. And indeed 
I think what is said of this country is very true ; for it must 
be evident to every person of common sense who, without 
prepossession, examines the region for himself, that the land 
which the vessels of Greece approach, is an acquisition to the 
Egyptians, and the gift of the river. The same may be 
said of the country which extends as far as three days' sailing 
above this lake ; though the Egyptians did not include it in 
their statement. — Such is the nature of this region, which 
appears from the following fact — that, at the distance of a 
day's sailing from the Egyptian coast, and when you are in 
eleven fathoms' water, if you let down the lead, you draw up 
clay — proving to how great a distance this deposit from the 
land takes place. 

The sea coast of Egypt measures sixty lines (of /sixty fur- 
longs^) that is to say, as we are accustomed to/ define it, 
from the bay of Plinthine, to the lake SerboniSj/naar Mount 
e^evpteiv tvv kviavrov. 

t The first maw— Egypt having been long ruled, as Aey affirmed, by 
jods. / 

(6) 



DESCRIPTION OF EGYPT. 107 

Casius. It may be remarked, that those whose territory is 
scanty, measure land by fathoms ; — those who are less 
straitened, by furlongs ; — those who possess much, by para- 
sangs (a measure of thirty furlongs); while those whose 
country is very extensive, use the line (an Egyptian measure 
of sixty furlongs). Thus measured, the coast of Egypt ex- 
tends to the distance of 3600 furlongs. From the coast, 
inland, towards Heliopolis, Egypt is an open plain,* well 
watered and slimy. The distance between Heliopolis and 
the sea is nearly equal to the length of the road from Athens., 
reckoning from the altar of the twelve gods, to the temple of 
the Olympian Jove, at Pisa :— the difference will not be 
found to amount to more than fifteen furlongs. 

As you ascend beyond Heliopolis, Egypt (i. e. the plain) 
becomes narrower ; for the Arabian mountain, running from 
north to south, continually rises as it approaches the Bed 
Sea. In this mountain are the stone quarries from which 
the pyramids at Memphis were constructed. Thence declin- 
ing, the mountain turns towards the sea, above mentioned ; 
and at this place the country is the widest, being, as I am 
informed, not less than two months' journey from east to west. 
The eastern district yields frankincense. On the other side, 
towards Libya, Egypt is bounded by a rocky and sand- 
covered mountain, on which there are pyramids. This range 
extends itself, like that just mentioned on the side of Arabia. 
Erom Heliopolis, Egypt, properly speaking, is not of great 
width : and especially at the distance of about four days' sail- 
ing up the river, it is very much straitened. A plain separates 
the two above-mentioned mountains, the width of which, at 
the narrowest part, I should estimate at not more than 200 
furlongs — reckoning from the foot of the Arabian, to the foot 
of the Libyan hills. But beyond this place Egypt again 
becomes wide. Such are the natural boundaries of this 

country. 

Erom Heliopolis to Thebes is a distance of nine days' 

sailing; or of 4860 furlongs; or eighty-one of the Egyptian 

measures. If we bring these computations together, we shall 

* or— an inclined plain. 
(8) 



108 DESCRIPTION OF EGYPT. 

j, ave _f or the sea coast of Egypt, as I have already said, 3G0O 
furlongs. — The distance from the sea inland, as far as Thebes, 
is 0120 furlongs; — and from Thebes to Elephantine is 1800 
furlongs. Of this region, the greater part, according to the 
account of the priests, and as also it appeared to me, is an 
acquisition to the Egyptians. Eor the ranges of hills which 
extend above Memphis, seemed to me formerly to have em- 
braced a gulph of the sea : — in like manner as is seen in the 
plains of Ilium, of Teuthrania, of Ephesus, or of the Meander : 
— if indeed we may compare small things with great ; for not 
one of these land-producing rivers can be compared for mag- 
nitude to a single mouth of the Nile — of which mouths there 
are five. Other rivers there are, though much inferior to 
the Nile in magnitude, which have exhibited great effects in 
the same mode. I might mention several : — among these, and 
not the least, is the Achelous, which running through Acar- 
nania, in emptying itself into the sea, has already formed a 
continuous land between one half of the Echinadian islands. 
There is in Arabia, and not far from Egypt, a long and 
narrow gulph, stretching inland from the Red Sea.* Its 
extreme length, if you proceed from its deepest recess, to the 
open sea, in a vessel with oars, will consume forty days. Yet 
its width, at the widest part, is not more than half a day's 
rowing. In this gulph there is a daily flowing and ebbing of 
the sea ; — just such a gulph as this, I suppose Egypt formerly 
to have been, stretching from the North Sea (the Mediter- 
ranean) into Ethiopia: as the Arabian gulph extends itself 
from the South Sea towards Syria : — both of them piercing 
their farthest recesses, leaving only a narrow neck of land 
between. Now let it be imagined that the Nile were to turn 
its channel into this Arabian Gulph, and what would hinder 
its being filled with mud in some twenty thousand years ? 
Indeed I am of opinion this might happen in half that time. 
Why then might not a space, even much larger than this, be 
rilled with a deposit of earth by a river so great and mighty 
during the ages that have passed away before our times ? 

* This Gulph is what is now called the Red Sea — a name extended by 
the ancients to the Persian Gulph and Indian Ocean. 

(11) 



DESCRIPTION OF EGYPT. 109 

1 therefore follow the opinion of those who give this account 
of Egypt ; and indeed am from my own observation fully per- 
suaded of the fact. When I see that Egypt projects far beyond 
the line of coast; — that shell-fish are found in the hills ;— that 
a brackish liquor exudes from the soil, which corrodes even the 
pyramids ; and that the only sandy mountain in Egypt is the one 
above Memphis. To which it may be added that, neither on 
the neighbouring lands of Arabia, nor on those of Libya, nor 
even in Syria (the maritime part of Arabia is possessed by 
the Syrians) is there found a soil at all resembling that of 
Egypt, which consists of a black and pulverized earth, such 
as is produced by the mud and sediment brought down from 
./Ethiopia by the river. But the soil of Libya, as we have 
seen, is a reddish and sandy earth, while that of Arabia and 
Syria is argillacious and stony. The priests also mentioned 
a fact which, to me, seemed a strong proof of what is affirmed 
concerning this country. — They say that in the reign of 
Mceris, when the river rose only eight cubits, the lands below 
Memphis were inundated : nine hundred years had not elapsed 
since the death of Moeris when I heard this from the priests. 
But now, unless the river rises sixteen, or at the least fifteen 
cubits, it does not flood that district. It seems to me, that 
those Egyptians who inhabit the region below the lake Mceris, 
as for instance the district called the Delta, and some other 
places — if in this manner the land, continues gradually to rise, 
and to go 6n increasing in the same proportion — so that the 
Nile shall no longer deluge the land — will experience ever 
after, what they are wont to predict will happen to the 
Greeks. For when the Egyptians are told that Greece is 
watered entirely by rain, and not like their own land by 
rivers, they say, — " If ever the main hope of the Greeks 
fails them, they must miserably starve :" — or in other words 
— " If the god should please, instead of sending rain, to 
dispense a drought, the Greeks will be overcome with famine 
— since they have no resource for water, except in Jove* 
alone." In saying this of the Greeks, the Egyptians are in 

* Jove— the heavens. 
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110 DESCRIPTION OP EGYPT. 

the right. But now let us see how the case stands with 
themselves. If it should happen — as I said before — that the 
land below Memphis, which is that where the increase takes 
place, should continue to rise at the same rate as heretofore, 
what can follow but that the Egyptians inhabiting that dis- 
trict should be famished ; for neither does it rain on then- 
lands, nor, in that case would the river overflow their fields. 
At present indeed they receive from the earth a harvest which 
costs them less toil than any other people, or than any other of 
the Egyptians are obliged to bestow ; for neither do they have 
the labour of breaking up the ground in furrows by the plough, 
nor of digging it; nor do they in any way work their arables 
like other men. But when the river has spontaneously come 
up and watered the land, and again retired, then every one 
sows his field : this done, he drives in swine, which trea*d the 
seed in : after this he awaits the harvest ; when ripe he treads 
out the corn by swine (oxen) and carries it home.f 

But what if we should adopt the opinion of the Ionians 
concerning Egypt, who say that the name belongs to the 
Delta only, which they reckon to commence from the watch- 
tower of Perseus, and extending to a distance of forty lines 
of sea coast, terminates at the Pelusian conservatories. The 
depth of Egypt from the coast, inland, they suppose to be 
not more than to the city of Cercasora, where the Nile 
divides into the Pelusian and the Canobian branches. All 
the rest of the country they attribute either to Libya or to 
Arabia. Were we to follow this opinion, it would be easy to 
show that, formerly, the Egyptians had no country at all. 
For the Delta, as the Egyptians themselves say, and I think 
truly, was overflown, and has, comparatively speaking, but 
lately appeared. On this supposition, why should they trouble 
themselves with an inquiry — imagining that they were the 
first of men ? Assuredly they ought not to have made trial 
what language the children would first speak. For my own 
part, I do not think that the Egyptians were coeval only with 
the region called by the Ionians the Delta ; but believe that 
they are as ancient as the human race : and that gradually, as 
the land was formed, while many remained in their first settle- 

(15) 



DESCRIPTION OF EGYPT. Ill 

merits, many descended : so it was that formerly the name 
Egypt was given to the Thebais — a region measuring in cir- 
cumference 6120 furlongs. If then we have formed a correct 
idea on this subject, the lonians are in error relative to Egypt. 
But if, on the contrary, they are right in this particular, then 
I can prove that neither the lonians nor the Greeks reason 
consistently when they say that the earth consists of three 
divisions — Europe, Asia, and Libya : — for they ought to add 
a. fourth, namely, the Delta of Egypt, which belongs neither - 
to Asia nor Libya. According to this mode of reckoning, it 
is not the Nile which separates Asia from Libya, as that 
river divides at the point of the Delta, leaving this region 
between Asia and Libya.* 

We abandon therefore the opinion of the lonians, and adopt 
this conclusion — That as we call the country occupied by the 
Cilicians, Cilicia, and that by the Assyrians, Assyria ; so the 
entire space inhabited by the Egyptians, is Egypt. And we 
know properly 6f no other limit of Asia and Libya, except 
that formed by the boundaries of Egypt. But if we were 
to follow the decision of the Greeks, then we must consider 
the whole of Egypt to be divided into two portions, bearing 
a common name. — I say all Egypt, from the Cataracts to 
Elephantine. Of these two portions, the one must belong to 
Asia, the other to Libya : for the Nile in its course from the 
Cataracts to the sea, divides Egypt in two : as far as the 
city Cercasora, it runs in a single stream ; but from that city 
it separates into three channels; — one, turning towards the 
east, receives the name of the Pelusian mouth; another, 
bending westward, is called the Canobian. That which forms 
the direct course of the Nile is the one which, in continuation 
of the stream from above, arriving at the point of the Delta, 
parts that district in two, and discharges not the smallest nor 
the least noted stream into the sea at the Sebennytian mouth. 
Prom this stream two others branch off, the one called the 
Saitic, the bther the Mendesian. The Bolbitian and the 
Bucolic mouths are nothing more than artificial canals. 

The opinion I have expressed relative to the extent of 
Egypt is confirmed by the oracle of Ammon, of which I was 
(17) 



112 DESCRIPTION OP EGYPT. 

informed after I had formed my own opinion. The people of 
Marea and Apis— cities situated on the confines of Egypt 
and Libya, deeming themselves to be Libyans, not Egyptians, 
and being impatient of the religious rites observed by the 
latter, and unwilling to be interdicted the flesh of the cow ; 
sent to the temple of Ammon this profession — " That they 
had nothing in common with the Egyptians, living as they 
did without the Delta, and not holding the same opinions :" 
adding, " that they wished it to be lawful for them to taste 
of all flesh." But the god would not grant them this indul- 
gence, saying, " Egypt was the country which the Nile inun- 
dates ; and that all those were Egyptians who, living below 
Elephantine, drank of the river." Such was the reply of the 
oracle. The Nile, when at its height, inundates not only 
the Delta, but those districts which are said to belong seve- 
rally to Libya and Arabia ; extending itself in some places 
to the width of two days' journey on each side; sometimes 
more, and sometimes less. 

As for the nature of this river I could not, either from the 
priests, or from others, collect any certain opinion. I did not 
fail to inquire of them why it was that the Nile, coming down 
just at the summer solstice, swells during a hundred days, 
and then, having completed that period, retires, and diminishes 
its stream ; so that it is low throughout the winter, nor aug- 
ments till the summer solstice. No Egyptian to whom I put 
the question, could give me any information on the subject, 
or tell me how it was that the Nile differed from all other 
rivers ; or why this river alone yields no breezes. Yet there 
are Greeks who, wishing to appear very wise, have offered 
three explanations of the peculiarities of this river. Of these 
three explanations, two merit no further notice than just to be 
mentioned. The other is as follows : — That the Etesian or 
summer wind is the cause of the rise of the river, by prevent- 
ing it from discharging itself into the sea. But often it has 
happened that the Etesian wind has not blown ; yet the Nile 
has risen as high as ever. Besides, if the Etesian winds were 
the cause, it would follow that all rivers which flow against 
these winds must exhibit the same effect; — and so much the 

(20) 



THE NILE. 113 

more as their streams are feebler. But there are many rivers 
in Syria, and many in Libya, which undergo no such change as 
that which takes place in the Nile. 

The second explanation — still less reasonable, but more 
marvellous, is that this rise happens because the Nile flows 
from the ocean, which, as they say, encompasses the whole 
earth. The third explanation, though the most specious, is 
really the farthest from the truth : — according to those who 
hold this opinion, the overflow of the Nile arises from the 
melting of snows. But now, how can it be that a river which 
rises in Libya, passes through ^Ethiopia, and discharges itself in 
Egypt — thus proceeding from the hotter to the cooler regions, 
should Owe its rise to snows ? There are many reasons which 
may convince any man that this cannot be the case. In the 
first place —and it is a sufficient evidence to the contrary — the 
winds that blow from those regions are hot. In the second 
place, the country is free both from rains and frosts; but 
where snow falls, there of necessity there will be rain within 
five days: — so that if there were snow, there would also be 
rain. Lastly, the men of those countries are blackened with 
the heat. Besides, kites and swallows remain there through 
the year, while cranes, flying from the Scythian winter, take 
up their abode there during that season. But, of necessity, 
none of these things would happen if, in the countries through 
which the Nile runs, and where it takes its rise, snow fell 
even in the smallest quantity. As to what has been said of 
the ocean — it is an obscure fable, destitute of proof. I. 
know of no such river as the ocean.* Homer, perhaps, or 
some of the earlier poets, finding the name, transplanted it into 
the language of poetry. 

Having rejected the several opinions above stated, it is fit 
that I should avow my own on this obscure subject. I pro- 
ceed therefore to declare what I think to be the cause of the 
summer inundation of the Nile.— The sun, being driven from 
his former course by the tempests, during the winter season, 
reaches the upper parts of Libya. I may now, in a very few 
words, explain the whole matter; for whatever region this god 
is the nearest to, and passes over, that region, of course, will 
(24) l 



114 DESCRIPTION OF EGYPT. 

experience the greatest drought, and there the brooks which 
feed the rivers will fail. Or to explain my meaning more 
at large. — When the sun passes over the upper Libya, the at- 
mosphere in these regions being always clear, and the tempe- 
rature high, and as there are no cooling breezes, he produces 
constantly the same effects which take place (elsewhere) 
during summer, when the sun is in the mid heaven; — that is to 
say, he draws to himself the water; and having drawn it, 
propels it towards the higher regions ;— the winds taking up 
these vapours, and again scattering them, they dissolve : 
wherefore it is that the winds which blow from these regions — 
that is the south, and the south-west winds, are of all others 
by far the most rainy. But it seems to me that the sun does 
not discharge all the water which every year he draws up 
from the Nile ; but reserves a part around himself. As the 
winter softens, the sun returns to his place in the mid-heavens ; 
and then he attracts the water from all rivers alike, which 
before that time, being swelled with copious rains, when the 
lands are replete with moisture and furrowed with torrents, 
flow at their full height. But in summer, the rains ceasing, 
and the sun attracting the water, they become small. But the 
Nile, unlike other rivers, being destitute of rains, and yet 
being exposed to the influence of the sun, very naturally is 
less in winter than in summer. Then, like all other streams, it 
suffers evaporation ; but it is the only river which is taxed also 
during the winter. — I conclude therefore that the sun is the 
cause of what takes place.* 

I am moreover of opinion, that the sun is also the cause 
of the dryness of the air in this region — burning, as he 
does, every thing in his course.' — Whence it is that the 
upper parts of Libya suffer a perpetual fervour. And if the 
quarters of the heavens could be changed, so as that where 
now the north stands, with its winter, there the south might 
take place, with its warmth ; and where the south, there the 
north ; in that case the sun, being driven from mid-heaven by 
the wintry north, would retire to the upper part of Europe, as 
now he passes to Libya. Thus traversing all Europe, I think 
he woidd do the same with the Ister, which now he effects 

(26) 



/ 4 



THE NILE. 115 

with the Nile. As to there being no breeze from this river, in 
my opinion it is not reasonable to expect winds to blow from 
hot countries 4— a breeze comes only from a cooler part. But 
we must leave these things as they are, and as they ever 
have been. ' 

Neither Egyptians, Libyans, nor Greeks, with whom I have 
conversed, know any thing of the sources of the Nile; — 
except only a certain scribe, keeper* of the sacred archives of 
Minerva at Sais, a city of Egypt. This man, thinking, T 
suppose, to make sport of me, professed that he had accurate 
information on the subject, which he thus communicated ; — 
he said " there were two mountains, having pointed summits, 
situated between Syene, a city of Thebais and Elephantine. 
These mountains are named, respectively, Crophi, and Mo- 
phi ; — and between them are the unfathomable fountains of 
the Nile. One half of these waters flows northward, to Egypt, 
while the other half runs southward, to iEthiopia. That these 
springs are bottomless was proved by Psammitichus, king of 
Egypt, who sounded them with a line of many thousand fathoms 
length, and yet did not reach .the bottom." So spoke this 
scribe, and if what he reported actually took place, there re- 
mains no doubt on the subject. Yet 1 rather think (even if 
this story is true) that there being in this place a refluence of 
powerful whirlpools, formed by the rushing out of the waters 
between the mountains — the sounding lead would be prevented 
from reaching the bottom. 

From no other person could I learn any thing on this 
subject. Other particulars, relating to regions more remote, I 
was informed of by those whom I questioned ; — and as far as 
Elephantine, I was myself witness of what I describe. Beyond 
that city the country is acclivitous, and the current of the river 
so strong, that vessels passing up the stream are drawn by 
ropes on both sides, like an ox by the horns :— if the ropes 
break, the vessel is carried down by the force of the torrent. 
This district extends to the distance of four days' sailing. 
The Nile is in this part of its course as tortuous as the 

* Or, interpreter of hieroglyphics . 
(29) I 2 



11G DESCRIPTION OF EGYPT. 

Meander. The same mode of navigation is necessary until 
twelve Egyptian lines have been accomplished: thence you 
arrive at an even plain, where the Nile flows around an island. 
The name of this island is Tachompso. The region above 
Elephantine is inhabited by iEthiopians, who share the above 
mentioned island with the Egyptians. Near the island is a 
large lake, around which nomadic iEthiopians feed their flocks. 
Having passed this lake, you again enter the channel of the 
Nile, which empties itself into the lake : at this place you 
disembark, and travel by the river's side a journey of forty 
days ; for the river abounds with sharp rocks and breakers, on 
account of which sailing is not practicable. When you have 
passed this region of forty days' journey, you go on board 
another vessel, and proceed up the river twelve days ; then 
you reach a large city, called Meroe — said to be the metropolis 
of all the iEthiopians. These people worship, of all the gods, 
none but Jupiter and Bacchus, to whom they pay great honour : 
they have also established an oracle of Jupiter. They make 
war when and where only the god by this oracle commands. 
Ascending the river above this place as far as the distance 
already passed between Elephantine and Meroe, you reach the 
Automolians, or ramblers, called Asmach — a word signifying — 
those who stand at the left hand of the king. For these 
Egyptians are the descendants of 240,000 warriors who retired 
into ^Ethiopia on the following occasion. — During the reign of 
Psammitichus they were appointed to garrison Elephantine 
against the iEthiopians — the Pelusian Daphne against the 
Arabians and Syrians, and Marea against Libya. These gar- 
risons are still maintained by the Persians, as they were by 
Psammitichus, at Elephantine and at Daphne. These Egyp- 
tians at Elephantine, having maintained their post three years 
without being relieved, consulted together, and with common 
consent, revolting from Psammitichus, passed over to Ethio- 
pia. Psammitichus being informed of this, pursued them, 
and coming up with them, besought them in a long harangue 
not to abandon the gods of their ancestors, their children, and 
their wives. But one of them, answering for the rest, said they 
doubted not to find wives where they went. They therefore 

(30) 



THE NILE. 117 

* 

proceeded to JEthiopia, and surrendered themselves to the king 
of that people, who thus rewarded them ; — being at variance 
with some of his subjects, he ordered these Egyptians to expel 
them, and to possess themselves of their lands. Thus the Egyp- 
tians settling among the ^Ethiopians, improved the manners of 
that nation, by imparting their own customs. 

The course of the Nile is therefore known to the distance of 
four months' sailing beyond the confines of Egypt ; for that is 
the time found on computation to be consumed in passing from 
Elephantine to the Automolians,— the direction of the river in 
this part is from the west. Of the country beyond the region 
we have named no one possesses exact information, only that 
it is a desert, rendered uninhabitable by the heat. Other 
accounts I heard from certain Cyrenseans, who professed that 
they had visited the oracle of Amraon, and had conversed with 
Etearchus, king of the Ammonians ; in conversing with whom 
on various matters, it was mentioned that no man knew the 
springs of the Nile ; upon which Etearchus said that once 
some Nasamones paid him a visit (a Libyan people inhabit- 
ing Syrtis, and a small part of the territory east of Syrtis). 
These Nasamones being asked if they had any thing new to 
report relative to the deserts of Libya, said that there were at 
one time among them certain headstrong youths, the sons of 
powerful chiefs, who, when arrived at manhood, among other 
exploits which they contrived, resolved to choose five of their 
number by lot, to explore the wilds of Libya, and to discover 
more than any travellers had yet seen. The parts of Libya 
contiguous to the northern sea (the Mediterranean) from 
Egypt to the promontory of Solocis, where Libya ends, is 
occupied by many Libyan nations, as well as by the Grecian 
and Phflenician colonies. But more remote from the sea, and 
beyond the maritime nations, the country is occupied by wild 
beasts ; and beyond this wild region are sands, frightfully 
parched, and destitute of all things. But to continue our 
narrative. 

These young men, it is said, sent out by their comrades, 
being well furnished with vessels of water, and with provi- 
sions, traversed at first the inhabited district :— that passed— 
(32) 1 3 



118 DESCRIPTION OF EGYPT. 

they arrived at the region of ferocious animals, and from 
thence penetrated the desert, having the westerly wind in 
their faces as they travelled. After consuming many days in 
crossing the region of sand, they at length saw trees growing 
in the plain : these they approached to gather the fruit, which 
then hung upon them. As they were eating, little men, 
much below the common standard, came upon them, seized, 
and led them away. Neither party understood the language 
of the other. These men led the Nasamones over an extensive 
bog ; after passing which they arrived at a city, the inha- 
bitants of which were of like diminutive stature with their 
guides, and their complexion was black. By the city ran 
a large river, the course of which is from west to east ; and in 
this river crocodiles are seen. Such is the account given by 
Etearchus, the Ammonian king, who added, that the 
Nasamones returned home, as the Cyrenaeans said, and that 
the men among whom they had arrived were all sorcerers. 
This river was, in the opinion of Etearchus, which opinion 
seems probable, no other than the Nile ; for the Nile flows 
from Libya, which it divides in the midst; and, as I con- 
jecture, inferring what is unknown from what is manifest, it 
runs from the same quarters as the Ister (or runs parallel 
with the Ister). For the Ister, rising in the country of the 
Celts, by the city Pyrene, divides Europe in two parts : but 
the Celts are beyond the pillars of Hercules, and border upon 
the Cynesians, who occupy the region the farthest to the west 
in Europe. The Ister, passing through Europe, discharges 
itself into the Euxine, at the place occupied by a Milesian 
colony. The Ister running through inhabited countries, is 
well known to many ; but the Nile; taking its course through 
the uninhabited deserts of Libya, hides its sources from the 
knowledge of man. Concerning so much of its track as' I 
could, by diligent inquiry, gain information, I have here 
stated all I have learned. It discharges itself, as we know, 
in Egypt ;— and Egypt lies nearly opposite to the lofty coast 
of Cilicia, from which coast to Sinope, on the Euxine, is a 
distance in a straight line that may be passed by a good tra- 
veller in five days.* And this Sinope is opposite to the 

(35) 



THE EGYPTIANS. 119 

mouth of the Ister. Thus I make the Nile, in traversing the 
whole of Libya, to equal the Ister. So much for the Nile. 

I now proceed to give a more detailed account of Egypt ; 
for this country contains more wonders than any other, and. 
many works with which those of no other region can be com- 
pared : it claims therefore a more particular description. 



SECTION II. 

MANNERS AND SUPERSTITIONS OF THE EGYPTIANS. 

The Egyptians, as their climate is unlike other climates, 
and their river unlike other rivers, so in manners and laws are 
they in almost all respects opposed to the rest of the world. 
Among these people the women frequent the market and keep 
shop ; while the men sit at home and weave. Other nations 
in weaving drive the shuttle above the woof; but the Egyp- 
tians beneath. Men carry burdens on the head, women on 
the shoulder. When others go abroad, they stay at home; 
and even take their meals in the high ways, alleging that 
whatever is not really indecorous, may well be done in public. 
No woman discharges the priestly office either to god or god- 
dess; but men always to both. Sons are not compelled to 
support their parents, if they are not disposed to do so ; but 
daughters must, whether willing or not, perform that duty. 
Elsewhere, the priests of the gods wear their hair; but the 
Egyptian priests are shaven. With other nations it is the 
custom to shave the head in mourning, especially for near 
relatives ; but the Egyptians, on the death of their friends, 
suffer the hair of the head and beard to grow long, which 
before was cropped. Other people feed apart from animals ; 
but the Egyptians take their meals along with beasts. Other 
men subsist on wheat and barley; but among the Egyptians it 
(36) . i 4 



120 DESCRIPTION OF EGYPT. 

is a thing especially held in contempt. They prepare their 
meal from Olyra, called by some Zea (spelt); and they knead 
dough with the feet, while they work clay with the hands; 
with which also they remove impurities. The Egyptians and 
those nations who have learned the custom of them, practise 
circumcision. The men wear two garments ; the women only 
one. The rings and cordage of sails, other nations fasten on the 
outside of the vessel ; the Egyptians within. The Greeks when 
they write and reckon numbers with pebbles, carry the hand 
from left to right ; but the Egyptians from right to left ; and 
in doing so they say — they write dexterously ; but the Greeks 
are sinister in writing. They use two species of writing, of 
which the one is called sacred, the other popular. 

Being excessively religious, beyond any other people, they 
practise many observances, such as the following. — They 
drink from brazen cups, which are scoured every day; and 
from this nicety no one is exempt. They are clad in linen, 
always fresh washed ; for to this particular they pay the most 
exact attention : * — they are ambitious rather to be clean than 
fine. The priests shave themselves completely every third 
day, in order that no vermin or other loathsome thing may be 
found upon them while waiting upon the gods. The priests 
wear linen only, and shoes of the papyrus ; nor is any other 
kind of clothing or sandal lawful to them. They wash twice 
in the day, and twice during the night, in cold water. And 
to say all in a word, they practise ten thousand ceremonies. 
These priests enjoy, however, not a few privileges; — for they 
do not use or consume any of their own property; but sacred 
bread is baked for them, and a plentiful supply of the flesh of 
oxen and geese is provided for each, every day. Wine of the 
vine also is given them; but fish they are not permitted' to 
taste. The Egyptians sow no beans; nor do they eat, either 
raw or cooked, such as may grow spontaneously ; nor can the 
priests endure even to see them, deeming all pulse to be un- 
clean. They have not one priest to each god ; but many, of 
whom one is high-priest, and he is succeeded by his son. 

Bulls they reckon sacred to Epaphos, and examine them in 

* Ta rt cucoia ntpi-afivovTai mSaoiorrj-oc uveae. 

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SACRIFICES. 121 

the following manner. — If the examiner spies a single black 
hair he deems the animal unclean. This scrutiny is made by 
one of the priests, appointed for the purpose, who searches 
the animal, standing up, and turned over, and with the tongue 
drawn out, to see if it be faultless in all the prescribed par- 
ticulars, which I shall presently mention. He looks nar- 
rowly at the hairs of the tail, to see if they all grow in a 
natural manner. If in all these respects it be clean, the priest 
signifies the same in a billet, bound about the horns, and 
affixing a piece of sealing earth (clay) he impresses it with his 
signet. The animal is thus led off". The penalty of death is 
attached to the crime of sacrificing an unsealed bull. Such is 
the mode of examining the victim. The established practice 
of sacrificing is as follows. — The sealed animal being led to 
the altar, where he is to be slain, they kindle a fire ; then 
they pour wine on the altar, near the victim, invoke the god, 
and inflict the fatal wound. The stroke given, they cut off 
the head, and then flay the carcase. Having heaped dire 
execrations on the head (of the victim) they carry it forth, 
and if there is a market at hand, frequented by Greek 
strangers, they sell it to them ; but if there are no Greeks in 
the neighbourhood, they throw it into the river. The impre- 
cation pronounced over these heads is as follows. — " If any 
evils impend over those who sacrifice, or over Egypt at large, 
let them be converted upon this head." In these ceremonies 
concerning the head of the victim, and the libation, all the 
Egyptians, on all occasions, observe a uniform practice. 
Hence it is that no Egyptian will, by any means, taste the 
head of any creature that has breathed. 

The mode of embowelling and of burning the victim, differs 
according to the nature of the worship ; and how this is per- 
formed in the chief festival of the principal goddess I now 
proceed to relate. — When the beast has been flayed, and the 
prayers finished, the contents of the lower cavity are removed, 
leaving however the viscera and the fat ; but they cut off the 
legs, and the extremity of the loins, and the shoulders and the 
neck. Having so done, they fill the body with clean (con- 
secrated) loaves, and honey, and raisins, and figs, and frank- 
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122 DESCRIPTION OF EGYPT. 

incense, and myrrh, and other perfumes. These being stuffed 
in, they burn the whole, pouring over it a plenty of oil. 
Before performing this sacrifice they fast. While the victim 
consumes, they all beat themselves (or bewail) and when they 
have done, the residue of the victim is placed for their dinner. 

All the Egyptians sacrifice the male of this species, young 
and old, if clean; but it is unlawful to sacrifice the female, 
which is sacred to Isis. For the image of Isis, being in the 
form of a woman, with the horns of a cow, as the Greeks 
depict Io, all the Egyptians alike worship coivs with a more 
■profound reverence than any other cattle. On which account 
it is that no Egyptian, man or woman, .will kiss a Greek on 
the mouth, or will use the cleaver of a Greek, or his spit, or 
his dish, or will taste the flesh even of clean beef that has 
been cut with a Grecian carving-knife. Bulls or kine that 
die, are buried in the following manner : — the kine are de- 
posited in the river : the bulls and oxen are buried in the 
suburbs of each city : one, or sometimes both of the horns 
being left above the surface, to mark the spot. When the 
carcase is decayed, and the appointed time arrived, there 
comes a barge to each city, from an island of the Delta, called 
Prosopitis, an island nine lines in circumference, and con- 
taining a great number of towns; among which is one named 
Atarbechis, where is a temple consecrated to Venus. From 
this place, then, comes the barge, to take away the bones of 
these bulls and oxen. The men of this city, in great numbers, 
disperse themselves, going some to one, some to another 
town, for the purpose of exhumating the bones, which, when 
they have collected, they bury all in one place. In this 
manner also other cattle, dying a natural death, are interred. 
Such are their laws relative to such animals : nor do they 
kill these. 

All those who have part in the rites of the Theban Jove, or 
who occupy the Thebaic mead, abstain from sheep, and sa- 
crifice goats. The Egyptians do not all worship alike the 
same gods, excepting Isis and Osiris, who, they say, is 
Bacchus ; but in the worship of these, there is no diversity. 
For those who have a temple consecrated to Meudes, or in- 

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HERCULES. 123 

habit the Mendesian plain, abstain from goats, and sacrifice 
sheep. The Thebans, and those who with them abstain from 
sheep, give this reason for the rule that is imposed upon them : 
— i* Hercules', say they, ' wished by all means to see Jupiter, 
who would not be seen by him : at length, as 'Hercules per- 
sisted in his endeavours, Jupiter adopted the following device; 
flaying a ram, he put the horned scalp of the head he had 
severed on his own, and clothed himself with the fleece ; thus 
attired, he showed himself.' Hence it is that the Egyptians 
give to the image of Jupiter the ram's face ; and from the 
Egyptians, the Ammonians, being a colony of mingled Egyp- 
tians and ^Ethiopians, and using a language compounded from 
those of both people, do the same. And it seems to me, 
that the name Ammonians was hence acquired. For the 
Egyptians call Jupiter Ammoun. The Thebans do not 
sacrifice rams, which on this account are deemed sacred by 
them. Yet on one day in the year, in the feast of Jupiter, 
they slay a ram, and flay it, and with the fleece invest the 
image of Jupiter, and then bring an image of Hercules to it. 
This done, all who are about the temple bewail the ram, and 
then give it sepulture, in a consecrated coffer. Concerning this 
Hercules, I heard that he was of the number of the twelve 
gods. Of the other Hercules, known to the Greeks, I could 
hear nothing in any part of Egypt. And indeed it seems that 
it was not the Egyptians who took the name — Hercules, from 
the Greeks; but the Greeks from them; and among the 
Greeks, those who give the name Hercules to the offspring 
of Amphitryon. Many proofs convince me that this is the 
fact, among which I mention only one ; — that both the parents 
of Hercules, Amphitryon, and Alcmena, were originally from 
Egypt : besides, the Egyptians protest that they know nothing- 
even of the names, Neptune, or the Dioscures; nor have 
ever given these gods a place among their divinities. And 
indeed, if they have received from the Greeks the name of 
any daemon, certainly not of these ; or if they had, they would 
not have lost the memory of them ; especially if they then made 
voyages, as some of the Greeks at that time frequented 
the seas, I cannot but be firmly of opinion that the Egyptians 
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124 DESCRIPTION OP EGYPT. 

would rather have preserved the knowledge of these gods 
than of Hercules. But Hercules is one of the primeval 
deities of the Egyptians ; for as they affirm it was seventeen 
thousand years before the reign of Amasis, when the twelve 
gods, of whom Hercules is reckoned one, were produced by 
the eight. 

Wishing by all possible means to obtain certain information 
on this point, I made a voyage to the Phoenician Tyre, having 
been informed that there was in that city a temple consecrated 
to Hercules. This temple I inspected; it is richly furnished 
with various offerings, and within it are two pillars, the one 
of refined gold, the other of an emerald, which by night 
shone with exceeding splendour. While conversing with the 
priests of the god, I asked them how long it was since their 
temple was built, and I found that they did not accord with 
the Greeks ; for they said the temple was consecrated when 
Tyre itself was raised ; and that the foundation of Tyre took 
place 2300 years ago. I saw at Tyre also another temple of 
Hercules, called the Thasian. I went therefore to Thasos, 
where I found a temple dedicated to Hercules by those 
Phoenicians who, sailing in quest of Europa, founded the city 
of Thasos : and this took place five generations before the 
birth of Hercules, the son of Amphitryon, in Greece. The 
result of these researches makes manifest the high antiquity of 
the god Hercules. Those Greeks therefore, as I think, do 
well who consecrate two temples to Hercules, one to the 
Immortal, sirnamed the Olympian, whom they worship with 
sacrifices ; the other to the hero, whom they celebrate with a 
festival. The Greeks, indeed, inconsiderately affirm many 
other things on this subject; as for instance, the following- 
foolish story, concerning Hercules. They say that when he 
arrived in Egypt, the Egyptians crowned him, and led him 
forth in solemn triumph, to be immolated to Jupiter. At first 
he resigned himself quietly to them ; but when they brought 
him near the altar, he put forth his strength, and slew them 
all. Now it seems to me that those Greeks who relate this 
story prove their utter ignorance, both of the native character, 
and of the institutions of the Egyptians, with whom it is not 

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SUPERSTITIONS. 125 

lawful to sacrifice any living thing-, excepting sheep, bulls, 
and calves, and of these such only as are clean ; and geese 
also ; — how then should they sacrifice men ? Besides, 
Hercules being but one, and only a man, as they say, how 
should he have the power to slaughter thousands ? So much 
for these matters, which I hope both gods and heros will take 
in good part ! 

Those of the Egyptians who do not sacrifice goats, male or 
female, give this reason. — The Mendesians number Pan 
among the eight gods ; and these eight, gods, they say, were 
the first of the twelve gods that came into being. Painters 
and sculptors delineate and carve the image of Pan as the 
Greeks do, with the face of a she-goat, and with the legs of 
a ram. Not that they" think him to have this form; for they 
believe him to be like the other gods. For what reason they 
thus represent him, it would be disagreeable to me to men- 
tion.* The Mendesians reverence all goats; but chiefly the 
rams, and therefore goat-herds enjoy peculiar honours, and 
when he who is chief among them dies, the whole Mendesian 
plain is given up to lamentations. In the Egyptian tongue, 
both a goat and Pan are called Mendes. The Egyptians , 
deem the hog a foul animal, and therefore if any one, in 
passing, does but touch this animal with his garments, he goes 
instantly into the river, and washes ; and for the same reason 
swine-herds, and these only, though native Egyptians, are 
excluded from all the temples of the land; nor will any one 
give a swine-herd his daughter in marriage, nor take one of 
his to wife. The swine-herds therefore intermarry only with 
their own class. It is not permitted to sacrifice a pig to the 
other gods ; but to Luna and Bacchus only, at the same time 
— the time of full-moon, they sacrifice pigs, and eat of the 
flesh. Why they abhor offerings of swine in their other 
festivals, and in this should sacrifice them, is indeed explained 
by the Egyptians; but though I know the reason they assign, 
I think it not fit to be mentioned. The sacrifice of swine to 
Luna is thus performed : — the end of the tail and the spleen 

* Ov [xol ijhov e<rn Xeyar. 
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12G DESCRIPTION OF EGYPT. 

are wrapped together in the omentum by the worshipper, and 
covered with all the fat of the belly, and thus burned. The 
rest of the flesh is eaten at the time of the same full moon ; 
but on no other day would it be tasted* The indigent, who 
from poverty cannot do this, mould pigs of dough, which they 
bake and sacrifice. 

On the eve of the feast of Bacchus, every man kills a pig 
before the door of his house, and then gives it to be carried 
away to the swine-herd of whom he received it. The 
Egyptians celebrate another feast of Bacchus, which, excepting 
the swine,, is in all respects nearly the same as that observed 
by the Greeks. With all these ceremonials it seems to me 
that Melampus, son of Amythaon, was not unacquainted, for 
it was he who taught the Greeks the name and worship of 
Bacchus ; yet neither did he fully make known these matters, 
which certain philosophers, better informed, afterwards ex- 
plained at large. I affirm then that Melampus, being a sage, 
and having accomplished himself in the art of divination, and 
acquired the learning of the Egyptians, communicated much 
of what he had learned to the Gpeks, and among other 
things, this worship of Bacchus, in which he made few alter- 
ations. For I say it was not by mere fortuity that the same 
ceremonies were practised at once in Egypt and in Greece, in 
the worship of this deity : if so, those observed in Greece 
would have been analogous to the customs of that people, and 
not lately introduced. And again, I utterly deny that the 
Egyptians received this, or indeed any other usage, from the 
Greeks. But I believe that Melampus learned what relates 
to the worship of Bacchus from Cadmus, the Tyrian, "and 
from those who came with him from Phoenicia, and settled in 
the country now called Bceotia. 

Almost all the names of the gods came into Greece from 
Egypt. For, upon inquiry, I have found that they are 
foreign (from the barbarians) and I think, for the most part, 
from Egypt : for as I have already said, excepting Neptuue, 
and the Dioscures, Juno, Vesta, Themis, and the Graces and 
the Nereids, the names of all the other gods have existed 
from the remotest ages in Egypt. I report at least what the 

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THEOLOGY* 127 

Egyptians themselves told me. And those gods, of whom 
they profess not to know the names, received appellations, as 
I think, from the Pelasgians :•— Except Neptune, for the 
knowledge of this god came from Libya; for the name of 
Neptune existed anciently among no people but the Libyans, 
who have always honoured him as a god. As to the Heros, 
the Egyptians do not celebrate their festivals. 

These and some other practices, which I shall mention, the 
Greeks received from the Egyptians ; but some also from the 
Pelasgians, who taught them first to the Athenians, and they 
to the rest of the Greeks. For the Pelasgians and Athenians 
who were then first numbered among the Greeks, occupied 
together the same region, whence it happened that the former 
also were reckoned to be Greeks. Whoever has learned the 
orgies of the Cabiri, as practised by the Samothracians, will 
acknowledge the truth of what I affirm : for those Pelasgians 
who dwelt with the Athenians, at first occupied Samothracia, 
and from them the Samothracians learned these rites. The 
Pelasgians formerly offered with their prayers, sacrifices of 
all things to the gods ; as I learned at Dodona. But they 
gave no title or name to any of them ; nor indeed had they 
heard of any such appellations. They designated them only 
as Theoi (founders) because by them all things were esta- 
blished and distributed throughout the world. But after a 
long course of time, they learned the names of the gods from 
Egypt, and last of all that of Bacchus. At length they con- 
sulted the oracle of Dodona concerning these appellations. 
This oracle of Dodona, the most ancient of all, was at that 
time the only one in Greece. When therefore the Pelasgians 
enquired at Dodona — " Whether they should admit the ap- 
pellations coming from abroad?" The oracle replied, "Use 
them." From that time therefore in their worship they have 
used the names of the gods : — afterwards the Greeks received 
them from the Pelasgians. 

Whence sprang each of the gods; — or whether they were 
all from eternity ; — what were their qualities, and what their 
appearances, was not known among us before yesterday, so to 
speak. For Hesiod and Homer, whom I reckon my elders 
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128 DESCRIPTION OF EGYPT. 

by not more than four hundred years, were the first who 
framed a Theogony for the Greeks, and bestowed appellations 
upon the gods, and distributed among them their several 
honours and functions, and indicated their forms. The poets 
said to have lived before these, were, in my opinion, after 
them. What I first mentioned I learned from the priestesses 
of Dodona ; but the opinion relative to Homer and Hesiod is 
my own. 

Concerning the oracles, as well that of Greece as that of 
About Libya, the Egyptians speak as follows. — The priests of the 
19 ' 80 ' Theban Jupiter say, that two women, who were priestesses, 
were carried off by the Phoenicians, of whom one is known to 
have been sold into Libya, and the other into Greece; and 
these women were the first founders of the oracles established 
in the said countries. When I inquired whence it was that 
they obtained this accurate information, they replied — " That 
a diligent search had been made after these women, who, for 
a long time, could not be found ; but at length the particulars 
that have been mentioned, were learned." Such was the 
account I received from the Theban priests ; but the Dodonian 
prophetesses give the following account. — " Two black pigeons 
flew from the Egyptian Thebes — one to Libya, while the 
other came to themselves. This pigeon perching on a beech 
tree, spoke with the voice of man, and pronounced that there 
was to be on that spot an oracle of Jupiter. The Dodonjeans 
believing that this was a divine annunciation, addressed to 
them, fulfilled the injunction." They say also that the pigeon 
which flew away to Libya, commanded the Libyans to in- 
stitute the oracle of Ammon; for that also is an oracle of 
Jupiter. This is the relation given me by the Dodonaean 
priestesses, of whom the eldest is named Promenea, the next 
Timarete, and the youngest Nicandra. The Dodonasans who 
attend at the Temple (agreed in the same story. My own 
opinion of which is as follows. — If indeed the Phoenicians 
carried away the holy women, of whom, as they say, one was 
sold into Libya, the other into Greece, I think this last was 
sold into that part of Greece, formerly called Pelasgia — 
which the Thesprotians occupy, where having been in servi- 

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THE EGYPTIANS. 12f) 

tude, she erected a chapel to Jupiter, under a beech tree. It 
was natural that a woman who had ministered in the temple 
of Jupiter at Thebes, and had come from thence, should bring 
with her a recollection of that deity, and that having ac- 
quired the Greek tongue, she should establish there an 
oracle. And it is probable that she said that her sister had 
been sold into Libya by the same Phoenicians. It seems to 
me moreover, that this woman was called a pigeon by the 
Dodonaeans, because she spoke a foreign tongue, and seemed 
to them to utter sounds like the chattering of birds. But after 
a time, as they say, the pigeon spoke with the voice of human 
kind; that is to say, she spoke a language understood by 
themselves ; whereas while she spoke a foreign language, she 
seemed to them to chatter like a bird. For how could it be 
that a pigeon should speak with the voice of a man? In 
saying that the pigeon was black, they signified that the 
woman was an Egyptian. The manner of prophesying is the 
same at Dodona, as at the Egyptian Thebes. The art of 
divination from victims is of Egyptian origin, and there also, 
first, were instituted sacred assemblies, and processions, and 
common supplications ; and from them the Greeks learned 
these institutions, of which this is proof to me, that they have 
been practised in Egypt from remote times, but in Greece 
only of late. 

The Egyptians convoke religious meetings, not once, but 
frequently in the year. This is done with peculiar zeal at 
Bubastis, in honour of Diana ; then at Busiris, to Isis, to 
whom there is a vast temple consecrated in that city, which is 
founded in the centre of the Delta. — Isis, in the Greek tongue 
i S) — Mother Earth — (Ceres.) The third in rank of these 
convocations is held at Sais, and is devoted to Minerva ; — 
the fourth, at Heliopolis, to the Sun;— the fifth at Butos, to 
Latona;— and the sixth at Papremis, to Mars. The festival 
at Bubastis is conducted in the following manner. — Men and 
women together, in great numbers, sail in barges of all sorts. 
During the voyage some of the women make a clatter with 
rattles, and men play the flute, while the rest, both men and 
women, sing and clap their hands. As often, in the course of 
(60) K 



130 DRSCRIPTION OF EGYPT. 

the voyage, as they approach any town they haul the barges 
ashore ; — and then some of the women do as I have said, while 
others utter taunts, and bawl at the women of the place ; 
others dance, and put themselves in strange attitudes. — All 
this is repeated at every city near which they sail. When they 
reach Bubastis, they celebrate a feast, and offer great sacri- 
fices, during which more wine of the vine is consumed than in 
all the year besides. Such is the description given of this 
festival by the people themselves ; and on this occasion there 
are assembled, as the natives report, 700,000 (or 70,000) men 
and women, besides children. 

I have already related (c. 40, p. 121.) how the festival of 
Isis is celebrated at Busiris. Men and women, a countless 
multitude, beat themselves and lament after the sacrifice ; but 
it is not permitted to me to say for whom they do this.* The 
Carians who reside in Egypt carry this ceremony to a still 
greater extreme ; for they actually cut their foreheads with 
knives, thereby making it evident that they are strangers, not 
Egyptians. When they assemble for sacrifices at Sais, on a 
certain night, they all hang many lights abroad round their 
houses : — these lamps are filled with salt and oil ; and on the 
surface floats a wick which burns all night. This is called the 
feast of lamp-lighting. Nor is it confined to those who 
assemble at Sais; for the Egyptians throughout the land 
observe the night of this sacrifice by similar illuminations. 
A religious reason is given for the blazing honours bestowed 
upon this night. At Heliopolis and Butos the congregations 
perform sacrifices only. But at Papremis, sacrifices and 
sacred rites, as elsewhere. As the sun declines a few of the 
priests are occupied around the image of the god ; while 
a multitude bearing wooden clubs, station themselves at the 
entrance of the temple : others, in number more than a thou- 
sand, who have vows to accomplish, stand about also ; each 
bearing a club. The image which is kept in a small chapel of 
wood overlaid with gold, is, on the eve of the festival, brought 
into another sacred edifice. The few priests who remain with 
the image draw a four-wheeled carriage, on which is placed 
the shrine, and the image it contains ; but the priests who 

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ANIMALS. 131 

occupy the entrance refuse it admission within the temple : 
then the devoted priests advancing to aid the god, strike 
them ; and so a fierce contest with cluhs ensues : — skulls are 
fractured: and, as I believe, many die of the wounds they 
receive. The Egyptians indeed affirm that no one is actually 
killed. 

The natives affirm this festival to have been instituted on 
the following occasion : — they say that the mother of Mars 
inhabited this temple, and that Mars who was nursed from 
home, when he grew up, wished to converse with his mother ; 
but her attendants, not having seen him before, suffered him 
not to pass, and forbad his entrance. He then, taking with 
him men from another city, violently attacked the attendants, 
and made his way to his mother. Hence arose the custom of 
beating in the feast of Mars. The Egyptians first of all men 
observed decencies in the temples : which elsewhere are not 
attended to, except by them and the Greeks : for other na- 
tions have conducted themselves in the very temples of their 
gods in a manner which they can excuse only by taking beasts 
as their examples. But the Egyptians, in this and other 
instances, conduct their religious services with more pro- 
priety. 



SECTION III. 



ANIMALS OF EGYPT. 



Egypt, though bordering on Libya, does not abound with 
wild animals. All such that are found are deemed sacred ; 
and some are reared with men, others not. If I were to give 
the reasons of these consecrations, I must enter upon religious 
discussions, which I have professed especially to avoid, and 
which I have introduced only when compelled by my subject 
to do so. Their law relative to wild animals is as follows :— 
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]32 DESCRIPTION OF EGYPT. 

Among- the Egyptians there are certain persons — men and 
women, who are the appointed guardians of the several species 
of animals ; and this dignity descends from father to son. 
The inhabitants of towns fulfil their vows in this manner : — 
when they pray to the god to whom the animal belongs, they 
shave the heads of their children — the whole — one half, or a 
third, and weigh the hair against silver : the amount is given 
to the guardian of the animals, who therewith purchases 
scolloped fish for their food : — for this is the provision assigned 
to them. If any man wilfully kills one of these animals, he 
pays the forfeit of his life: — if unwittingly, he lays down 
such a fine as the priests shall please to appoint. But. he who 
kills an ibis or a hawk — wilfully or not, must of necessity 
die for it. Very many animals are domesticated in Egypt, 
and the number would be greater than it is, if the increase of 
cats were not lessened, as it is said, by the male of that species 
destroying the young. "When a fire happens the fate of the 
cats is a matter of pious solicitude ; for the Egyptians, allowing 
the conflagration to consume what it may, range themselves 
so as to take best care of the cats ; while these — to the infinite 
grief of the people, slipping aside, or leaping over the heads 
of their protectors, tumble into the flames. In whatever 
house a cat dies by a natural death, all the inmates shave their 
eye-brows ; but when a dog dies they shave entirely. Dead 
cats are taken to the sacred asylums at Bubastis, where they, 
are embalmed, and receive sepulture. But dogs are buried in 
the consecrated repositories of their own cities : and in like 
manner are interred ichneumons ; while shrew-mice, and 
hawks, are carried to Butos : — the ibis, sacred to Mercury, to 
the city of Mercury — Hermopolis. Bears, which are rare, 
and wolves — a species not much larger than foxes, are buried 
wherever they may be found. 

The following particulars relating to the crocodile may be 
mentioned. These animals eat nothing during the four most 
winterly months. They are quadrupeds, and frequent both 
land and water. The female lays and hatches its eggs 
ashore, and passes the greater part of the day on dry land ; 
but the whole night in the river : for the water is then warmer 

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THE CROCODILE. 133 

than this air and the dew. Of all mortal creatures known to 
Us, this, from being the smallest becomes the largest ; for the 
egg is not much bigger than that of a goose ; and the young 
one is in proportion. But when it attains its full size it mea- 
sures seventeen cubits, and sometimes more. It has the eyes 
of a hog; — teeth projecting, and large in proportion to the 
size of the body. It is the only animal that is destitute of a 
tongue ; and unlike all other creatures, the lower jaw is im- 
moveable, while the upper rises and falls. Its talons are of 
prodigious magnitude ; its hide scaly, and on the back im- 
penetrable. The crocodile is blind in the water : but very 
quick-sighted out of it. Frequenting the water so much, the 
inside of its mouth is infested with leeches : other creatures, 
both birds and beasts avoid it ; but with a small bird named 
the trochilus, to which it owes a debt of gratitude, it lives in 
amity ; for when the crocodile ascends from the water, and 
yawns, which most often he does towards the western breeze, 
the trochilus getting into his mouth, devours the leeches ; 
while he, well pleased with the service, hurts not the bird. 
With some of the Egyptians the crocodile is sacred ; while 
others pursue him as an enemy. The inhabitants of the 
Thebais and of the shores of the lake Moeris, regard them 
with the highest veneration. Each person rears a crocodile 
which they train to the hand, and from its ears suspend clustered 
jewels and gold, and encircle the fore-feet with rings : he is 
fed with the utmost possible delicacy and care upon bread 
and the flesh of victims, and when he dies he is embalmed and 
placed in some consecrated repository. But those who inhabit 
the territory of Elephantine, eat the crocodile, which they con- 
sider to be not at all sacred. This animal is called in Egypt 
not crocodile, but champsa: — the former appellation having 
been given it by the Ionians, on account of its resemblance to 
the lizard, which they find in their hedges. Crocodile hunting 
is conducted in various modes ; that which to me seems the 
most worthy of being described, is as follows : — having baited a 
hook with the chine of a pig, the huntsman lets it down into the 
mid-stream of the river, while he stands on the brink, having 
with him a living pig, which he strikes ; the crocodile hearing 
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134 DESCRIPTION OF EGYPT. 

the cry, follows the sound, and meeting the chine, swallows it : 
the people then draw him ashore ; when he is brought to land, 
the huntsman fist of all blinds his eyes with mud ; in which, 
if he succeeds, he easily accomplishes his object; but if not, 
with difficulty. 

The hippopotamus is deemed sacred in the district of 
Papremis; but not so to the other Egyptians. The nature 
and appearance of this animal are these. — It is a quadruped, 
and cloven-footed: — having the hoof like an ox: — the nose 
flat :— the mane of a horse ; the teeth exposed and projecting : 
— the tail and the voice like a horse. In size he equals the 
very largest ox : his hide is so dense that, when dried, polished 
javelins are made of it. The river produces also otters, which 
are deemed sacred. Of all fishes those chiefly venerated are, 
that called lepidotus and the eel ; which, as they say, are the 
holy personages of the Nile. Among (water) birds the fox- 
goose holds the first rank. Yet there is another sacred bird 
called the phoenix, which indeed I have never seen, except in 
paintings; for they come but rarely — not oftener (as the 
Heliopolitans affirm) than once in five hundred years. He 
then comes, they say, on the death of his father. The figure 
of this bird, if he resembles his picture, may be thus described : 
— his wings are . golden and red : in size and appearance he 
greatly resembles an eagle. The phoenix is said — but for my 
own part I give no faith to the story, to act as follows : — He 
comes flying from Arabia to the temple of the sun, bearing 
(the body of) his father, conclosed in myrrh, which he buries 
in that temple. He brings him, it is said, in this manner: — 
first he moulds an egg of myrrh, as large as he is able to bear, 
and makes a trial of bearing it : — having proved his power to 
transport the mass, he hollows out the egg, and places his 
father in the cavity ; this done, he fills up the excavation with 
more myrrh, so as to make the weight of the whole equal to 
what it was before. All being plastered up, away he goes 
with his burden, to the temple of the sun in Egypt. Such, 
say they, are the performances of this bird. 

There are about Thebes sacred serpents entirely innoxious to 
man. They are of diminutive size, and have two horns sprout- 

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WINGED SERPENTS. 135 

ing from the crown of the head, and when they die, they are 
buried in the temple of Jupiter, to whom they are said to be 
sacred. There is a district of Arabia, opposite nearly to 
Butos, which I visited, in order to inform myself relative to 
the winged serpents. When I arrived, I beheld the ske- 
letons of serpents, an ineffable multitude : — the heaps 
of spines, were some larger, some less, and many smaller. 
This district where the spines are scattered about, is an exit 
from between mountains : the defile opens upon an extensive 
plain, which borders upon the plain of Egypt. The story goes, 
that in the spring the winged serpents fly from Arabia towards 
Egypt, when they are encountered in this pass by the birds— 
ibis, which suffer them not to proceed, but kill them. It is 
for this achievement, as the Arabians say, that the Egyptians 
hold the ibis in so much honour ; and indeed they themselves 
acknowledge that they honour these birds on this account. 
The ibis may be thus described : — It is all over of a deep 
black ; it has the legs of a stork ; the bill crooked, and in size 
equal to that of the crex : — this is the form of the black ibis 
which fights with the serpents ; but the species — for there are 
two — which most besets the haunts of man, has the head, in 
part, and the neck quite bare ; the plumage white, except that 
of the head, throat, and extremities of the wings and tail, 
which, as I said, are all deep black ; the legs and beak re- 
semble those of the other species. As to the form of the serpent 
(above mentioned) it is much like a water snake : it sustains 
its flight, not with wings like a bird, but rather with mem- 
branes, such as those of the bat. So much for the sacred 
animals of Egypt, j 



SECTION IV. 

HABITS AND USAGES OF THE EGYPTIANS. 

Those of the Egyptians who inhabit the arable part of the 
(77) k 4 



130 DESCRIPTION OF EGYPT. 

country are, of all men, the most eminent in storing the 
memory, and by far the most erudite of any persons with 
whom I have made acquaintance. The regimen they observe 
is as follows. — In pursuit of health they take a variety of 
strong medicines during three successive days of every month, 
believing that diseases of all kinds to which man is liable 
arise from the repletion of food. The Egyptians, next to the 
Libyans, are indeed of all men the most healthy. This, in my 
opinion, is attributable to their climate, which is not variable : 
for it is by changes, chiefly, that diseases are produced among 
men ; and of all changes, those of the weather are the most 
injurious. They subsist upon cakes, called cyllestes, made 
of the olyris (spelt or rye) and drink wine, prepared from 
barley ; for the vine does not grow in that district. Fish is 
used for food, of which some is eaten raw, being only dried 
in the sun, and some corned in brine. Of birds also they 
eat the quail, the duck, and smaller kinds, not otherwise 
cooked than by being cured. But other birds and fishes — 
excepting always those deemed sacred, they eat either baked 
or boiled. 

In the convivial meetings of the rich, when sapper is 
ended, there is borne about the image of a corpse, placed in 
its coffin, carved and painted as near as possible to the reality, 
and in length one cubit, or sometimes two. This is presented 
to each of the guests, and he is thus addressed — " Looking 
at this, drink and be merry ; for such shall you be after 
death." — Such is the practice at feasts. The Egyptians are 
too much attached to the customs of their ancestors to adopt 
any others. Among other things remarkable is a certain 
ballad, which is sung in Phoenicia, also in Cyprus, and else- 
where ; each people giving to it a name of their own : it 
is very much the same as that sung by the Greeks, and called 
by them Linus ; and while many things I met with in Egypt 
perplexed me, so this — whence the Egyptians received this 
song, for it seems certain that it has been in use among them 
from the most remote ages. The name they give it is 
Mancros; and they say that the first king of Egypt had an 
only son so namod, who died a minor, and that these lamenta- 

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USAGES. 137 

tions arc in honour of him. This is the first and the only ode 
extant among- them.* 

In one particular alone the Egyptians resemble some of the 
Greeks — namely the Lacedaemonians — their youth in meeting 
the aged, yield and give them the path, and rise from their 
places when their seniors enter. In this they are utterly 
unlike the rest of the Greeks. Instead of a salutation, the 
Egyptians, in meeting, do reverence to each other, dismissing 
the hand to the knee. They wear linen garments, having, 
about the legs, fringes called calasires : over all they throw 
a cloak of white woollen cloth. — Yet they never wear woollen 
garments in entering the temples ; nor are they buried in that 
material, which would be thought unholy. These observances 
are similar to those called the Orphaean, and the Bacchaean, 
in which the Egyptians agree with the Pythagoreans. For 
to none initiated in these rites, is it lawful to be buried in 
woollen ; and a religious reason is given for the observance. 
Other institutions of this people may be mentioned. Each 
month and day is dedicated to one of the gods. They also,, 
in observing the day of a man's birth, predict what will befal 
him — how he will die — and what sort of person he will be. 
Some of the Greek poets have followed the same practices. 
More prodigies have been noted by the Egyptians than by all 
other men besides ; for whenever a prodigy occurs, they 
write it down, and preserve an account of the corresponding- 
event ; and if afterwards any thing similar happens, they 
anticipate what will take place. Their opinion relative to 
divination is this : — they think the art is possessed by no 
mortal, but by certain of the gods only. They have therefore 
among them oracles of Hercules, of Apollo, of Minerva, 
of Diana, of Mars, of Jupiter; and that which above all 
the rest is esteemed by them, the oracle of Latona at Butos. 
The manner of giving responses at these several oracles is 
different at each. 

The medical art is thus distributed by the Egyptians ; — 
every disease has a physician to itself, who cures nothing else : 
all places are filled therefore with medical practitioners; — for 
there are doctors of the eyes, and doctors of the liead, and 
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138 DESCRIPTION OF EGYPT. 

doctors of the teeth, and of the stomach, and of all inward 
complaints. Their lamentations and funerals are conducted 
in the following manner. — On the demise of a man of re- 
spectability, all the females of the household cover their 
heads, and even faces with mud ; and then leaving the corpse 
at home, traverse the city, lamenting, with their loins girt, and 
their bosoms bare. With them follow all the relatives. The 
men lament by themselves ; they also girded. This done, 
they carry the dead to be embalmed. There are certain per- 
sons who practise this art. These, when they receive the 
corpse, exhibit to the persons who bring it, wooden models of 
bodies, painted to resemblance as patterns. The most elabo- 
rate of these models represents, they say, him whose name 
on this occasion I do not think it lawful to mention.* The 
second model is of an inferior kind, and cheaper ; and the 
third is still less costly. These models being set forth, the 
embalmer asks — to which pattern they will have the dead 
prepared. The relatives agreeing as to the price to be paid, 
depart. The embalmers then proceed, at their own home, 
with their work, as follows — if the most costly method is to 
be practised. In the first place, with an iron hook, they ex- 
tract the brains by the nose, or what remains by drugs injected. 
Then, with a sharp Ethiopian stone, they open the body, from 
which they remove all the contents; and having cleansed 
them, and suffused palm wine, they inject pounded aromatics. 
Then filling the cavity with pure bruised myrrh, and cassia, 
and other aromatics, excepting frankincense, they sow it up, 
and afterwards corn it in nitre, in which it lies seventy days ; 
longer is not permitted. This time elapsed, the body is washed, 
and then bound about with bandages of fine linen (cotton) 
bespread with gum, which the Egyptians in most things use 
instead of glue. The relatives having received the body thus 
prepared, enclose it in a wooden case, which they make in re- 
semblance of the human form. When so enclosed, they con- 
sign it, as a treasure, to the family sepulchre, placing it erect 
against the wall. This is the most costly mode of preserving 
the dead. 

Those who, to avoid excessive expence, choose the middle 

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EMBALMING THE DEAD. 139 

mode, have their relatives embalmed in the following manner. 
The body, instead of being opened and embowelled, is filled 
with an oil drawn from the cedar, and then steeped the 
allotted time in nitre; after which the injection, by its effi- 
cacy, clears the cavity of its contents, while the nitre has 
dissolved the flesh, leaving to the corpse only the skin and 
bones. This done, they deliver it to the relatives, without 
bestowing upon it further pains. The third method of em- 
balming, practised only for the most indigent, consists 
in cleansing the body with drugs, and corning it the seventy 
days; after which it is delivered to those who remove it. 
Women of distinction are not carried to the embalmers till 
three or four days after death. If any one, whether an Egyptian 
or a stranger, is torn by a crocodile, or has perished in the 
river, when the body is found, the people of the city near 
which it lies, are bound, by an irrevocable necessity, to em- 
balm it, and bury it with honour in the consecrated reposi- 
tories. Nor is it lawful for any one, except the priests of the 
Nile, not even the relatives or friends of the deceased, to 
touch the body : — and these priests handle and bury it as if 
it were something more than the corpse of a man. 

The Egyptians avoid adopting the customs of the Greeks, 
indeed I may say of any other people whatever. Yet though 
this is true of the Egyptians in general, there is a large city 
called Chemmis, in the phtin of Thebes, near to Neapolis, 
where there is a quadrangular temple, surrounded with palm- 
trees, which is dedicated to Perseus, son of Danae. The 
vestibule of this temple is formed of stones of prodigious 
magnitude, upon which stand two colossal statues : within the 
precincts there is a chapel, containing an image of Perseus. 
The people of Chemmis affirm that Perseus frequently ap- 
pears in that country, and often within the temple ; and then 
one of the sandals he has worn is found, which measures two 
cubits in length. When he appears — so they say — the whole 
of Egypt is unusually productive. In his honour they cele- 
brate a festival after the manner of the Greeks ; for they 
have gymnastic games, with exercises of every kind ; and to 
the victors they propose prizes of cattle, mantles, and skins. 

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140 DESCRIPTION OF EGYPT. 

When I inquired why Perseus was wont to appear to them 
only, and why they distinguished themselves from all their 
countrymen by celebrating gymnastic contests, they replied, 
" that Perseus was a citizen of their's, both Danaus and 
Lyncea, who sailed to Greece, being Chemmitans. Then 
reckoning the genealogies of these, they found Perseus in the 
line of descent. He, coming into Egypt, for the reason 
assigned by the Greeks, brought from Libya the Gorgon's 
head, and arrived among them acknowledging them all as 
his kinsmen. For when he came into Egypt he had already 
learned from his mother the name, Chemmis ; and they had 
instituted gymnastic games to him at his command." 

The customs before-mentioned are observed by all the 
Egyptians inhabiting the country above the marshes; but 
those who occupy the swampy levels, conform themselves to 
the usages of all the other Egyptians. Among other things, 
each man takes only one wife, like the Greeks. To augment 
the supply of food, they have discovered the following means. 
— When the inundation of the river is at its height, and the 
fields are covered with a sheet of water, a multitude of lilies 
grows in the water : this plant by the Egyptians is called the 
lotus. These being reaped, are dried in the sun, and in the 
centre of the lotus is what resembles a poppy seed, which being 
pounded, is made into loaves, and baked. The root of the 
lotus is also eatable, being of a mild sweetness : it is bulbous, 
and about the size of an apple. There is also another spe- 
cies of lily, not unlike the rose ; this likewise grows in the 
river. The fruit of this plant is contained in a calix, grow- 
ing on a separate stalk, from the same root, and is much like 
the comb of wasps : in this are many grains, fit for food, in 
size equal to the olive. These are eaten either green or dried. 
Moreover the papyrus, which springs up yearly, when it is 
gathered from the marshes, is used ; — the upper part being 
cut off, is converted to various uses, while the lower part, 
which is left about a cubit in length, is eaten, or sold. Those 
who wish to taste the papyrus in perfection, have it baked in 
a bright oven, and so eat it. Some of these Egyptians sub- 
sist entirely upon fish, which, as soon as taken, are drawn 

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PRODUCTIONS. ' 141 

and dried in the sun ; and when so prepared are eaten, without 
other cooking. 

Gregarious fishes are not, for the most part, produced in 
rivers ; but being bred in inlets, at a certain season of the 
year, betake themselves to the open sea ; the males leading 
the van : after a time they return to their proper haunts, the 
females then taking the lead : when the young are spawned, it 
is said the males devour the greater number, the species being- 
continued by those that happen to escape. Fish of these 
kinds, if taken on their way seaward, are found to be 
bruised on the left side of the head ; but if caught when 
returning towards the shallows, they are bruised on the 
right side : which happens in this way ; — when they are 
outward bound, they coast along with the shore on the 
left ; but in returning they have it on the other side ; and 
that they may not be carried out of their course by the 
strength of the current, they press as near as possible upon 
the bottom. When the Nile begins to rise, the hollows and 
ditches in the lands near the river, as the water oozes into 
them, are soon filled, and instantly almost all a these cavities 
abound with small fish. The reason of which, as it seems to 
me, may easily be given ; for as the Nile, in the preceding- 
year, retires, the fish deposit their eggs in these cavities, and 
themselves take their departure with the latest ebb : in the 
returning season, no sooner does the water again come up, 
than these deposited eggs vivify, and fill these pools with life. 
So much for these fish. 

The Egyptians inhabiting the borders of the marshes make 
use of an ointment pressed from the fruit of the Sillicyprian 
tree, called by them Kiki, which is thus obtained : — On the 
margins of the river and of the lakes they plant this tree, 
which in Greece grows spontaneously ; but when so cultivated 
yields an abundance of fruit of a fetid smell : this, when 
gathered, is either beaten and pressed, or toasted ; when the 
oil runs from it, and is collected. It is a fat oil, and not less 
proper for the lamp than that of the olive ; yet it diffuses a 
strong odour. The means devised to avoid the gnats which 
swarm in prodigious numbers, are these. Those who reside 
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142 DESCRIPTION OF EGYPT. 

at some elevation above the marshes, avail themselves of 
towers which they ascend to sleep ; for the gnats, to avoid 
the winds, do not fly high. While those who dwell on the 
very margins of the marshes, instead of towers, practise an- 
other contrivance. Every man possesses a net, which, during 
the day, he employs in catching fish, and which at night he 
uses in his bed-chamber, where he places it over his couch, 
and so sleeps within it. For if any one sleeps wrapped in a 
cloak or cloth, the gnats will bite him through it ; but they 
never attempt to penetrate the net. 

The Egyptians frame their vessels of burden from a species 
of the thorn-tree, which in appearance much resembles 
the lotus of Cyrene, from which a gum exudes in drops. 
From this thorn they cut pieces of wood, of about two cubits 
in length : these are put together in the manner of tiles, to 
form the vessel. The pieces are connected by stout and long- 
wooden pins. When the sides are thus formed, they place 
transverse beams above, without using any ribs ; the joints 
are stopped on the inner side with the papyrus. The rudder 
is made to pass through the keel : — the mast is formed of the 
thorn ; and the sails are of papyrus. These vessels are not 
able to stem the current of the river, except with a wind 
directly favourable ; but are drawn along from the shore. In 
passing down the stream, the plan they adopt is this : — from 
the tamarisk-tree is formed a shutter or hurdle, wattled with 
reeds : they provide also a pierced stone weighing about two 
talents. The hurdle is fastened crossways by a rope to the 
bow of the vessel, and receives the current, while the stone is 
suspended by another rope from the stern. The vessel or 
barge, as it is called, is therefore borne swiftly along by means 
of the hurdle ; while its course is directed by the stone 
which hangs in deep water behind. The Egyptians have 
great numbers of barges of this kind, and some of them carry 
many thousand talents' burden. 

When the Nile comes up upon the country, the cities only 
are seen rising above the waters, and have an appearance very 
much resembling that of the islands of the JEgean Sea : — all 
.besides throughout Egypt is one expanse of water. While 

(TO 



INUNDATION. 143 

this continues, vessels no longer observe the channel of the 
river, but take their course across the plains. Thus those 
who pass from Naucratis to Memphis, sail by the Pyramids ; 
whereas otherwise they would pass the point of the Delta, 
by Cercasora : and thus also in sailing from the sea and 
Canobis to Naucratis, you pass over the plain near the 
cities called Anthylla and Archandrus. Anthylla is a 
place of note, and its revenues are assigned always to the 
wife of the reigning king of Egypt, for the purchase of her 
shoes. This custom was established while Egypt was subject 
to the Persians. The other city, just mentioned, seems tp 
me to have received its name from the son-in-law of Danaus — 
Archandrus of Phthia, son of Achaeus. There may indeed 
have been some other Archandrus, who gave his name to the 
city ; but assuredly the name is not Egyptian. 

Thus far I have reported the result of my personal obser- 
vations, or knowledge, or researches. I now proceed to re- 
late the history of Egypt as I heard it from the people them- 
selves ; with which however I shall mingle some things that 
fell under my own inspection. 



SECTION V 



REMOTE HISTORY OF EGYPT. 



The priests affirm that the first king who reigned in Egypt B q^ 
was Menes : he raised a dyke at Memphis ; for anciently the 2235 
river flowed near the sandy hills which skirt Libya; but he, 2173. 
filling up the river, at the turn it makes about a hundred 
furlongs southward of Memphis, laid the old channel dry, 
and led the stream mid-way between the mountains. And in- 
deed in the time of the Persians, this elbow of the Nile, 
where it is shut out by a dyke, was watched with especial 
(99) 



144 HISTORY OF EGYPT. 

care, being newly banked up every year; for if the river were 
to break over this mound, all Memphis would be in danger 
of inundation. This Menes — the first of the kings, having 
drained the ground which he had secluded, founded on the 
spot the city now called Memphis. Memphis is situated in 
the narrowest part of Egypt. Without the city he dug a 
reservoir from the river towards the north and west; for 
towards the east it was bounded by the Nile itself. The 
same monarch reared at Memphis a vast and justly renowned 
temple of Vulcan. After him reigned 330 kings, whose 
names the priests recounted to me from a record. In this long 
Accession of princes there were included eighteen Ethiopians, 
and one woman — a native Egyptian. The name of this 
Egyptian queen was the same as that of the Babylonian 
queen— Nitocris. It is reported of her that she signally 
avenged her brother — a king whom the people had slain, 
— transferring the sovereign authority to her. She pro- 
cured her revenge in destroying many of the Egyptians 
by a stratagem. — She caused a spacious subterraneous 
hall to be excavated, and concealing her purpose, pro- 
fessed that she had a new design to execute.* Then she 
invited to a feast many of the Egyptians — those especially 
whom she knew to have taken part in her brother's death : 
while they were feasting, she let in the river, by a large but 
secret canal, upon them. Such is the story of this queen, 
concerning whom it is added that, as soon as she had accom- 
plished her purpose, she withdrew into a sepulchre, f in order 
to escape the vengeance of the people. Of the other kings 
they related nothing memorable or illustrious, excepting only 
1424. the last of them, named Mceris, who constructed the cele- 
brated vestibule to the northern front of the temple of Vulcan. 
He also dug a lake, the extent of which I shall presently 
mention ; and in the midst of it raised two pyramids, which 
I shall at the same time describe. The other kings left no 

* The text seems altered in this place : the author probably wrote — 
' professing to construct a banquetting-room.' 

t Literally—' she threw herself into a chamber filled with ashes.' 

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SESOSTRIS. 145 

signal hionuments of their reigns. Passing them by therefore, B. C. 
we mention the monarch who succeeded them, named Sesostris. 
This king first — as the priests affirmed — sending a fleet of ships 
of war from the Arabian Gulph, subdued the nations inhabit- 
ing the shores of the Red Sea. Proceeding onwards, he came 
to a sea too full of shallows to be navigated. Returning thence, 
as they say, he raised a large army, which he led through the 
countries, subduing all that came in his way. Whenever he 
met with a people who opposed him valiantly, and pertina- 
ciously clung to their liberties, he erected columns in their 
land, on which were inscriptions, setting forth his name, aal 
descent, and how by his forces he had vanquished them. Bit 
in those cities which he had taken easily, and without resist- 
ance, he set up pillars, bearing inscriptions of the same im- 
port; but accompanied with an ignominious emblem of the 
womanish cowardice of the people. In this way he traversed 
the continent, till he passed from Asia into Europe, subduing 
as well the Scythians as the Thracians. And here, as I 
think, the progress of the Egyptian army terminated ; for in 
these regions are seen the columns just mentioned, but not 
further. From thence, retracing his steps towards home, he 
arrived at the river Phasis. Nor am I able certainly to 
aifirm whether this king Sesostris himself settled a portion of 
his army as a colony in this region, or whether a part of his 
men, indignant at his wanderings, remained behind on the 
margin of the Phasis. Yet the Colchians appear plainly to 
be Egyptians. I say this as well from my own observation 
as from the assertions of others. Being solicitous to dis- 
cover the fact, I made inquiries of both people, and found 
that the Colchians have more recollection of the Egyptians 
than the Egyptians of the Colchians; yet the latter think 
them to be of Egyptian extraction, and to have de- 
scended from the army of Sesostris. This indeed I had 
before conjectured, not merely because the Colchians are 
black in complexion, and have woolly hair — for the same may 
be said of some other nations ; but rather because of all men 
none but the Colchians, the Egyptians, and the Ethiopians, 
originally practised circumcision ; for the Phoenicians and 
(104) h 



146 HISTORY OF EGYPT. 

Syrians of Palestine, themselves acknowledge that they 
learned this custom of the Egyptians. And the Syrians on 
the banks of the Thermodon and Parthenius, and their 
neighbours, the Macrones, profess that they have in this usage 
only of late followed the Colchians. These then are the only 
people circumcised, and these evidently have all herein followed 
the Egyptians. But of the Egyptians and Ethiopians it cannot 
be said which derived it from the other ; it seems to be of 
high antiquity. That the nations above named learned it by 
intercourse with the Egyptians, I am convinced from this cir- 
4fcmstance, namely, that the Phoenicians who settle among the 
(Treeks cease to do so ; and their descendants are never thus 
distinguished. I will now mention another instance of simi- 
larity between the Colchians and the Egyptians. These two 
people alone fabricate linens in the same mode. Besides that 
their mode of life, and their language are alike. The Colchian 
linen is indeed by the Greeks called Sardinian, while that 
brought from Egypt is named from the people who make it. 

Of the columns erected in different countries by Sesostris, 
few are now to be seen. Yet in the Syrian Palestine I myself 
saw some bearing the above-mentioned inscription, and the 
emblem of ignominy. And there are in Ionia two images 
of this man, cut in the rock.* The one is seen in the road 
from Ephesus to Phocaea ; and the other in that from Sardis 
to Smyrna ; in both of them the figure is carved the height 
of five spans, holding in the right hand a spear ; in the left, 
a bow, and the habiliments agree therewith, being partly 
Egyptian and partly Ethiopian. f From shoulder to shoulder, 
across the chest, there is carved an inscription in the Egyptian 
hieroglyphic character, to this effect : — " This region I ac- 
quired with my arms." Who he was, or whence, is not there 
made known ; but is elsewhere declared. And hence it has 
happened that some persons, though very erroneously, in 
seeing these sculptures, have imagined that they represented 
Memnon. This Sesostris, as the priests relate, returning to 

* Bas reliefs, probably similar to those of Persepolis. 
t The bow was an Ethiopian weapon 

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SESOSTRIS. 147 

Egypt with captives from a multitude of cities and countries 
he had conquered, was received at the Pelusian Daphne by 
his brother, to whom he had committed the government of 
Egypt. This brother inviting him and his sons to his home, 
collected a quantity of wood around the house, and set fire 
to it. Sesostris informed of this, forthwith consulted with 
his wife, who accompanied him. She advised him, as he 
had six sons, to take two of them, and lay them across the 
burning materials as a bridge, over which the rest might pass, 
and be saved. This Sesostris did : two therefore of his sons 
were burned, while the others, with their father, escapejfc 
When he regained his home, he avenged himself on ms 
brother. 

The host he led back with him from the conquered countries, 
he employed in drawing those enormous stones which, in this 
king's reign were collected at the temple of Vulcan. He also 
compelled them to dig unwillingly all those trenches by which 
Egypt is now intersected. Before this trenching, Egypt 
everywhere was permeable by cavalry and chariots ; but since 
that time, though a level region, it has become inaccessible to 
horses and chariots, by reason of the infinity of canals 
crossing it in every direction. The country was thus inter- 
sected by the king for the benefit of those cities which were 
situated at a distance from the river, and which, when the 
inundation subsided, suffering the want of water, were obliged 
to drink from brackish ponds. It is this king who is affirmed 
to have parcelled out the whole of Egypt, bestowing a square 
lot of equal size upon every man ; and upon each a certain tax 
was imposed, to be paid yearly. If any one's lot happened to 
be infringed upon by the river, he made known the fact to the 
king, who despatched overseers to ascertain, by measurement, 
how much such a parcel of land had lost, in order that in 
future a proportionate part of the tribute might be remitted. 
I am of opinion that from hence geometry took its rise, which 
afterwards was introduced into Greece. For it was from the 
Babylonians that the Greeks learned concerning the pole of 
the earth— the solar gnomon, and the twelve parts of the day. 
(109) h 2 



148 HISTORY OF EGYPT. 

This king Sesostris, alone of the Egyptian monarchs, ruled 
over Ethiopia. He left monuments of himself in figures of 
stone, placed in front of the temple of Vulcan. Two of them, 
representing himself and his wife, are thirty cubits high ; the 
others are of his four sons, twenty cubits high. A long time 
afterwards a priest of Vulcan refused to permit a statue of 
Darius the Persian to be placed in front of these colossal 
images. " For," said he, " the exploits of Darius are not 
comparable to those of the Egyptian Sesostris, who, besides 
conquering as many nations as the Persian, subdued also the 

tthians, whom Darius was unable to reduce. It would not, 
efore, be just to place in front of his statues, the image of one 
' whose deeds are inferior." Darius, it is said, excused this reply. 
B # C. After Sesostris, his son Pheron is said to have ascended the 

1357. throne. He undertook no military expedition ; but it hap- 
pened to him to become blind in the following manner : — The 
river rising at that time to the height of eighteen feet, and 
overflowing the fields, there -happened a gale of wind, which 
produced a swell of waves. The king, in a fit of passion, 
seizing a spear, threw it into th0 midst of the billows. Pre- 
sently his eyes were affected with disease, and he became 
blind. Ten years he continued in this state. In the eleventh 
year there came to him an oracular message from the city 
Butos, to this effect — "That the time of his punishment was 
expired, and he should see again, if he washed his eyes with 
a lotion administered to him by a virtuous woman." He 
therefore first sought the remedy from his own wife ; but 
without effect : then he made trial of many others. At length 
he found the expected cure ; when, bringing together all the 
women who had afforded him no relief, he placed them in a 
certain city, now called Erythrebolus (Red-soil) where, shut- 
ing them up together, he burned them all with the city : he 
afterwards married the woman by whose means he had re- 
covered his sight. The offerings he made on this occasion 
were various in all the more noted temples ; but that gift 
which chiefly deserves record, as especially it attracts atten- 
tion, consists of two obelisks, at the temple of the sun, each 

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PROTEUS. 149 

formed of a single stone, and each measuring a hundred 
cubits in length, and eight in breadth. 

The next monarch was, as it is said, a Memphian, who, in b. C. 
the language of the Greeks, is called Proteus. The beautiful 1291 - 
and well furnished sanctuary of this king is seen at Memphis, 
on the southern side of the temple of Vulcan. Around this 
sanctuary dwell certain Phoenicians of Tyre, and all this dis- 
trict is called— the camp of the Tyrians. Within the sacred 
precincts of Proteus, is an edifice named the Temple of the 
foreign Venus : and I conjecture that this temple was dedi- 
cated to Helen, daughter of Tyndarus, both because I have 
heard that Helen lived with Proteus, and because that the 
name — the Foreign Venus is a peculiar cognomen, or appel- 
lation ; for among all the other temples of this goddess, none 
is so designated. When I inquired of the priests concerning 
Helen, they gave me the following account.— Alexander 
(Paris) having carried off Helen, sailed for his own country. 
But while passing the iEgsean sea, strong contrary winds drove 
him into the Egyptian sea ; and not abating, carried him on 
till he arrived in Egypt, at Tarichea, by the Canobian mouth 
of the Nile. He came ashore near the temple of Hercules, 
which still exists. — According to the law of the place, if any 
man's servant took refuge in this temple, and received the 
sacred stigmas — surrendering himself to the god, it was not 
lawful for him to be laid hold of.* This law has continued 
in force from its first institution to the present day. The 
attendants of Paris being informed of the lav/ of this sanc- 
tuary, fell away from him, and seated themselves as suppliants 
to the god, intending to accuse and injure him, by relating his 
conduct towards Helen, and the wrong he had done to Mene- 
laus. This accusation they preferred, not only before the 
priests, but in presence also of the warden of the river's mouth, 
whose name was Thonis. This officer, hearing these things, 
instantly despatched a message to Proteus, at Memphis, to 
this effect :— " A stranger has arrived— by nation a Trojan ; 

* See an allusion to this usage, Gal. vi. 17.— "Henceforward let no 
man trouble me," &c. 

(114) l 3 



150 HISTORY OF EGYPT. 

but who has perpetrated a wicked deed in Greece, having 
seduced the wife of his host, and leading her, and having also 
immense treasures, has been borne by contrary winds upon 
your coasts. — Shall we then suffer him to sail away unhurt; 
or shall we seize what he has brought?" To this inquiry, 
Proteus replied, " This man, whoever he may be, having thus 
evil entreated his host ; — arrest, and bring him to me, that I 
may know what he will say." 

Thonis having received this answer, apprehended Paris, 
and detained his ships, and then conducted him to Memphis, 
with Helen and his treasures: he also brought the suppliants 
(servants). .All being arrived, Proteus asked Paris who he 
was, and where he had sailed. And he in reply declared his 
family, and his country, and the course of his voyage. Proteus 
then inquired whence he had taken Helen. Paris then pre- 
varicated, and falsified his story, in which he was confuted by 
the suppliants, who narrated all the circumstances of the 
crime. In the end, Proteus pronounced this sentence — " If 
it were not that I make it an inviolable rule not to put to death 
any stranger who may have been driven upon my shores by 
adverse winds, I would avenge upon you the quarrel of that 
Greek. You ! — the most wicked of men, who, while receiving 
hospitalities, have perpetrated the worst of all crimes — ap- 
proaching the wife of your host : nor was that enough ; but 
you stole and carried her away : nor did that even content 
you ; but you come loaded with the spoils of your hosts' 
house. Now since I must forbear to put a stranger to death, 
I forbid you to take away this woman, or the treasures, which 
I will retain for the Greek, in case he should wish to come 
and take them away. As for yourself, and those who sail 
with you, I enjoin you, within three days, to steer away from 
my country, to some other. If not, I shall look upon you as 
enemies." 

Such were the circumstances under which, according to the 
priests, Helen came to Proteus. And it seems to me, that 
Homer had learned this story; yet not thinking it well suited 
to the epic forms, he adopted another ; and yet in doing so, 
makes it manifest that he was not ignorant of this. This 

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PROTEUS. 151 

appears when, in the Iliad, (and no where else does he give a 
different account,) he describes the wanderings of Paris with 
Helen ; he mentions that he came, in the course of his various 
journeyings to the Phoenician Sidon. He refers to this in 
that part of the Iliad, entitled the Bravery of Dionied,* the 
verses are as follow : — 

" There lay the vestures of no vulgar art, 
Sidonian maids embroidered every part, 
Whom from soft Sidon youthful Paris bore, 
With Helen touching on the Tyrian shore." 

II. VI. 360. (Pope.) Gr. 289. 

He mentions the same subject again in the Odyssey : — 

" These drugs, so friendly to the joys of life, 
Bright Helen learned from Thone's imperial wife ; 
Who swayed the sceptre where prolific Nile 
With various simples clothes the fattened soil." 

Od. IV. 315. Gr. 227. 

And again, where Menelaus addresses Telemachus : — 

" Long on the Egyptian coast by calms confined, 
Heaven to my fleet refused a prosperous wind : 
No vows had we preferred, nor victims slain !" 

Od. IV. 473. Gr. 351. 

In these passages, the poet makes it evident that he 
was acquainted with the fact, that Paris wandered into 
Egypt. For Syria borders upon Egypt, and the Phoenicians 
to whom Sidon belongs, inhabit Syria. From these verses, 
and especially from the last, it appears that the Cyprian 
poems are not Homer's, but of some other author : for in the 
Cyprian poems it is said that, on the third day after leaving 
Sparta, Paris arrived at Ilium, with Helen ; having had a 
favourable wind and a smooth sea. Whereas, in the Iliad it 



* The poems of Homer were anciently distributed into portions, 
severally designated from the principal subject contained in them. 
(117) l 4 



152 HISTORY OF EGYPT. 

is said, that he led her by a devious course. So much for 
Homer and the Cyprian verses. When I inquired of the 
priests whether the account of the Trojan war given by the 
Greeks was fictitious or not ; they said that the following facts 
had been learned from Menelaus himself. 

After the carrying away of Helen, a large army of Greeks, 
espousing the cause of Menelaus, proceeded towards the Trojan 
territory. Having disembarked, and formed their encamp- 
ment, they despatched an embassy, in which Menelaus himself 
was included, to Ilium. The ambassadors, when they entered 
within the walls, demanded Helen, and the treasures stolen by 
Paris ; as well as vengeance for the injury. To this demand the 
Trojaus replied, by affirming what they have always since main- 
tained — with and without oaths — that they had neither Helen 
nor the treasures in question, which were all in Egypt ; and 
that it was unjust that they should be required to undergo a 
penalty on account of what was in possession of Proteus, the 
Egyptian king. The Greeks thinking themselves mocked by the 
Trojans, beseiged the city till they took it. When the for- 
tification was captured, as Helen did not appear, and as they 
still received the same declaration as at first, the Greeks at 
last believed the statement, and therefore sent Menelaus to 
Proteus. Menelaus arriving in Egypt, and sailing up to 
Memphis, related all that had happened — was treated with 
signal hospitality — received Helen unhurt, and with her, all 
his treasures. And yet, though thus obliged, Menelaus evil- 
requited the Egyptians. For being desirous to depart, and 
the winds continuing a long time contrary, he perpetrated a 
lawless deed — seizing two youths, the sons of Egyptians, he 
sacrificed them as victims. When this became known, Mene- 
laus being hated and pursued by the Egyptians, sailed away 
towards Libya, and what course he took from thence, they 
know not. With these events they professed themselves to be 
accurately acquainted, partly by inquiries, and partly because 
some of these circumstances had taken place among them- 
selves. Such then is the account given me by the Egyptian 
priests; and I am inclined to assent to so much of it as relates 
to Helen, and I think that if she had indeed been in Troy, 

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RAMPS1NITUS. 153 

the Trojans would have delivered her to the Greeks, with or 
without the consent of Paris. For truly, neither Priam nor 
the members of his family were so infatuated as to put in peril 
their own persons, their children, and their city, merely that 
Paris might retain Helen as his wife. Or even if at the 
first they had formed such a resolution, after many of the 
Trojans, in every encounter with the Greeks, had perished; 
and when, if the epic poets are to be believed, more than two 
or three of the sons of Priam had fallen, I cannot but think 
that, even if Helen had been the wife of Priam himself, he 
would have surrendered her to the Greeks, to be freed from 
the ills which pressed upon him. Nor may we suppose that 
Priam being old, the royal authority was about to pass into 
the hands of Paris ; for Hector was at once the eldest, and a 
man much superior to his brother, and who, on the death of 
Priam, would succeed him. And that Hector should yield to 
his brother, whose conduct had been so iniquitous, and 
thereby bring upon himself personally, and upon all the Tro- 
jans, the heaviest calamities, is not at all probable. But 
they had not Helen with them : yet in declaring this truth, 
they were not believed by the Greeks. And this happened, 
if I may declare my opinion, by the appointment of divine 
providence, that so they, utterly perishing, might make it 
evident to mankind, that the gods inflict great punishments 
upon those who commit great crimes. This at least is the 
light in which the facts appear to me. 

To Proteus succeeded Rampsinitus, who, as a memorial b. C. 
of his reign, left the western portico of the temple of Vulcan. 
Opposite to this porch he placed two statues, five and twenty 
cubits in height. The Egyptians give the name of summer 
to the figure which stands on the northern side ; while they 
call the other winter : — the former they worship and pro- 
pitiate ; the other, on the contrary, they treat with contempt. 
This king amassed, they say, an amount of riches which none 
of his successors has been able to surpass, or even nearly to 
equal.* Wishing to place his wealth in security, he erected 

* If in making this translation I had thought myself at liberty to 
excind the worthless portions of my author's work, I should certainly 

(121) 



1237. 



154 HISTORY OF EGYPT. 

an edifice of stone, of which one of the walls formed the ex- 
terior of the palace. The man who executed the work, 
adopted the following contrivance. — He prepared a single 
stone of the wall, which might readily be removed from its 
place by two men, or even by one. The building being com- 
pleted, the king deposited his treasures in it. After some 
time had elapsed, the architect, being at the point of death, 
summoned his sons — he had two — and to them declared in 
what way he had provided for the competency of their future 
lives, by the contrivance he had executed in building the 
royal treasury. Then he accurately described to them the 
mode of extracting the stone ; giving them its measurement, 
and telling them that if they regarded his instructions, they 
would become the dispensers of the royal treasures. The sons 
did not long delay, after the death of their father, to set 
themselves to the work. Approaching the palace by night, 
they discovered the stone, easily removed it, and bore away 
much of the treasure. When next the king happened to open 
the treasury, he wondered to see the diminution of money 
in the jars. Nor did he know whom to accuse; for the seals 
were entire, and the treasury shut. After two or three 
times opening the place, and seeing the treasure each time 
diminished — for the thieves had not ceased to carry on their 
depredations — he took this Course : — He commanded gins to 
be made, and placed among the jars containing the money. 
The plunderers, coming as before, one of them, in approach- 
ing a jar, fell in, and was instantly detained by the trap : as 
soon as he understood his misforture, he called his brother, 
and telling him what was his situation, enjoined him imme- 
diately to enter, and to cut off his head, lest being seen and 
recognized, he, as well as himself, should miserably perish. 
The other approving this counsel, obeyed, and then refitting 
the stone, went home, carrying with him the head of his 

have omitted the foolish story which occupies the following pages. The 
reader may well save the time required to peruse it. Gibbon says with 
truth — Herodotus writes sometimes for children, sometimes for philoso- 
phers. 

(121) 



RAMPSINITUS. 155 

brother. As soon as it was day, the king entering the trea- 
sury, was astounded on seeing the headless body of the thief 
in the trap, while the building was untouched and neither 
entrance nor exit could be seen. In his perplexity he adopted 
the following measures. — He caused the body of the thief to be 
suspended on the wall, and placing guards about it, commanding 
them to seize and bring to him, any one whom they might 
observe to weep, or express commiseration. The mother of 
this youth was grievously distressed by the suspension of the 
body, and conversed with her surviving son, whom she en- 
joined, by any means that were practicable, to contrive to 
unfasten and bring away the corpse of his brother : and she 
threatened, that if he neglected to do so, she would herself go 
to the king and make known to him in whose hands the trea- 
sure was. Thus treated by his mother, and unable to move 
her from her purpose, he had recourse to a stratagem. He 
procured several asses, which he loaded with vessels filled with 
wine, and then drove them along. When he came near the 
guards who watched the suspended body, he drew the pendant 
plugs of two or three of the vessels ; as the wine ran out, he 
struck his head, and bawled aloud, as if he knew not towards 
which of the asses he should first turn. The guards seeing so 
much wine running out, rushed into the road, stayed the 
vessels, and received the wine, thinking it a fortunate accident 
for themselves. He feigning auger, reviled them all. The 
guards endeavoured to soothe him, and at length he affected 
to be softened, and to dismiss his wrath. In the end he drove 
his asses out of the road, as if to set them again in order. 
More conversation took place, and as the men began to jeer 
and jest with him, he gave them one of the vessels of wine : 
receiving this they turned aside, thinking only of emptying it. 
They took hold therefore of the youth, and insisted upon his 
remaining to drink with them : he seemed to be persuaded and 
remained ; and they so civilly treated him in their potations that 
he gave them another vessel of wine. The guards then drink- 
ing profusely, became completely intoxicated, and presently 
fell asleep on the spot where they had drunk. The youth, wheu 
the night was far advanced, first disengaged the body of his 
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150 HISTORY OF EGYPT. 

brother, and then, for mockery, shaved all their right cheeks. 
This done, he placed the corpse upon the asses, and drove 
them home:— thus accomplishing the behest of his mother. 
The king was deeply chagrined to learn that the body of the 
thief had been stolen ; and resolving by all means to discover 
who it was that had executed these schemes, commanded his 
own daughter to frequent public places, and to form acquaint- 
ance indiscriminately with all she might meet, and to win from 
them a confession of their most villainous and most astute 
exploits ; and if any of those she met with should mention the 
robbery in question, to detain him. The young thief becom- 
ing acquainted with this plot, and being resolved in every way 
to surpass the king in cunning, cut off the hand of a man 
recently dead, which he concealed under his cloak. Thus pro- 
vided he visited the king's daughter, and when she put to him 
the question, he confessed that the most atrocious act he had 
ever committed was the having cut off his brother's head, when 
caught in a trap in the king's treasury ; — and the most cunning 
deed, was the making the guards drunk, and so taking away 
the suspended body of his brother. She hearing this, endea- 
voured to seize the youth ; but the thief put forward the dead 
hand, which she laid hold of, thinking to detain him : while 
he, leaving it with her, escaped by the door and fled. When 
this was related to the king he was amazed, both at the adroit- 
ness and the audacity of the man, and in the end, sending a 
herald from city to city, promised security and even handsome 
entertainment to the man if he would present himself before 
him. The thief confiding in the promise, came forward, and 
Rampsinitus greatly admiring his ability, gave him his daughter 
in marriage, deeming him the most expert of men : for as the 
Egyptians were accounted to surpass in intelligence all man- 
kind, so he, all the Egyptians. 

After these events, this king, as the priests affirmed, de- 
scended alive into that place beneath the earth where the 
Greeks suppose Hades is situated; and there he played at 
dice with Ceres, sometimes gaining the advantage, and some- 
times losing the game. He again made his way to the upper 
regions, having received from her, as a gift, a golden towel. 

(122) 



CHEOPS. 157 

This descent and return of Rampsinitus is, they Say, com- 
memorated by the Egyptians in a festival, which indeed I 
know to have been observed in my time ; but whether on this, 
or some other account, I am not able to say. A mantle 
woven the same day by the priests is worn by one of them, 
whose eyes are bound with a turban. The other priests then 
conduct him into the road leading- to the temple of Ceres, 
and retire. This blinded priest, as they say, is conducted by 
two wolves to the temple of Ceres, distant about twenty 
furlongs from the city, and then is brought back from the 
temple by the wolves to the same spot. Let every one believe 
these Egyptian stories to whom they may appear credible. 
For my own part I propose to myself, throughout this history, 
only to report what I have heard from others. According to 
the Egyptians, Ceres and Bacchus preside over the infernals ; 
and the Egyptians also are the first who have maintained the 
doctrine that the soul of man is immortal ; for they affirm, 
that when the body perishes the soul enters always into some 
other animal ; and when it has made the circuit of all ter- 
restial and marine animals and birds, it, again puts on the 
human body. This circuit, they say, is accomplished in 
three thousand years. There are, among the Greeks, those 
who have adopted this opinion — some earlier, others later, 
and have professed it to be their own. The names of these 
men I know, but refrain to mention. 

Up to the time of Rampsinitus, and during his reign, all B c 
Egypt, it is said, enjoyed the benefits of good government, and H82. 
great prosperity. But he was succeeded by Cheops, who 
hurried forward every wickedness : for he closed all the 
temples ; and having first prohibited sacrifices, then com- 
manded all the Egyptians to labour for himself. On some he 
imposed the task of bringing stones from the Arabian quarries 
to the Nile. These stones, being conveyed in barges across 
the river, he obliged others to receive, and transport them as 
far as what is called the Libyan mountain. These labours 
they performed in companies of 100,000 men each, which was 
relieved every three months. During ten years of the time in 
which the people were thus oppressed, they formed a road, 
(124) 



158 HISTORY OP EGYPT. 

along which these stones were conveyed. And this work I 
think was little inferior to the pyramid itself; for the length of 
it was five furlongs, the width ten fathoms, and the height 
eight fathoms, where the level is at the greatest elevation above 
the ground. It is formed of polished stones, sculptured with 
the figures of animals. Ten years we say were consumed in 
forming this causeway, and a long period in excavating the 
eminence on which the pyramids stand, where he constructed 
a sepulchre for himself, in an island, made by leading the 
waters of the Nile in a canal to the place. The pyramid 
which occupied twenty years in building, is quadrangular ; — 
each side measuring, both in width and height, eight hundred 
feet. The stones are polished, and fitted in the most exact 
manner, and none of them is less than thirty feet in length. 

The mode of constructing the pyramid was this: — It was 
built in the manner of steps, which some call copings, others 
altarets. When one grade was completed, they raised upon 
it the stones required for the next, by means of small pieces of 
wood (wedges ?) The stone thus elevated from the ground to the 
first range, and from that to the one above it, when it reached 
its resting place was placed on another machine (or system of 
wedges) ready prepared to receive and raise it ; for as many 
ascents as there were, so many machines also : or perhaps 
there might be one machine, easily lifted, which was lifted 
from grade to grade, as often as a stone was to be raised. — We 
mention both methods as we heard them. In finishing the 
structure, they began at the summit and worked downward to 
the base. Upon the pyramid is signified in Egyptian charac- 
ters, what sum was expended in the purchase of radishes, 
onions, and garlick, for the workmen. And I remember that 
my interpreter, when he read the inscription, told me that it 
amounted to 1,600 talents of silver. If so, what must we, in 
reason, suppose to have been the cost of the iron employed in 
the work, and of the provisions and clothing of the workmen, 
calculating for the time above mentioned ? and, as I think no 
little time ought to be reckoned for cutting the stones — for 
bringing them, and for forming the excavations. 

To such an extreme of wickedness did Cheops proceed, that 

(126) 



CHEPHREN. 159 

when he wanted money, he shamelessly employed his daughter 

to collect it by the worst means. How much she amassed is 

not said ; but it is affirmed, that, besides what she gathered 

for her father, she, wishing to leave a monument of herself, 

exacted from each man the value of one stone ; and with these 

stones it is said she constructed a pyramid — namely, that 

which stands between the three, and in front of the great 

pyramid. Each side of her pyramid measures 150 feet. 

B C 
This Cheops reigned, as the Egyptian say, fifty years : on his u'^! 

death his brother Chephren ascended the throne, who fol- 
lowed the same course, as well in other things, as in construct- 
ing a pyramid : yet not of the same magnitude — we measured 
both, neither does it contain subterranean chambers ; nor a 
channel, like the other, from the Nile, forming within the 
structure an island, on which it is said the body of Cheops 
reposes. The first range of this pyramid of Chephren is 
faced with variegated Ethiopian marble : it measures less, by 
forty feet, than the other, near which it stands : both occupy 
the same aclivity, which rises about a hundred feet above the 
plain. This king reigned, it is said, fifty-six years. This 
period of 106 years is stated to have been a time of utter 
wretchedness to the Egyptians ; for during the whole of it the 
temples that had been closed were never opened. And in 
such detestation is the memory of these kings held that the 
Egyptians unwillingly mention their names; and designate 
the two pyramids by the name of the shepherd Philition, who, 
at that time, fed his herds in that region. 

Mycerinus, son of Cheops, reigned after Chephren. He B. C 
disapproved the conduct of his father — opened the temples, 
and the people, harrassed with extreme miseries, he allowed 
to mind their own affairs, and to fulfil the rites of religion. 
He is said to have surpassed all other kings in the equity of 
his decisions ; and he is extolled on this account above any 
monarch that has ever reigned in Egypt. Though always 
judging impartially, yet he was accustomed, when any one 
thought himself aggrieved by his decision, to make him a 
present in order to mitigate his chagrin. — So indulgent was 
Mycerinus towards the people ! Yet, while thus pursuing their 
(129) 



1076. 



1G0 HISTORY OF EGYPT. 

welfare, calamities befel him ; the first of which was the death 
of his daughter, an only child : exceedingly afflicted by this 
misfortune, and wishing to give her sepulture in some extra- 
ordinary mode, he caused a wooden heifer to be formed, 
hollow within, and overlaid with gold, and in this he depo- 
sited the remains of his daughter. This heifer was not placed 
under ground, but in my time remained visible. It is at Sais, 
and stands in a richly furnished chamber of the royal palace. 
Aromatics of all kinds are every day burned before it ; and 
at night a lamp constantly burns near it. In an adjoining 
chamber stand colossal wooden statues, which, as the priests 
of Sais affirm, represent the women of Myrcerinus : there are 
about twenty of them. Whether or not the account given of 
them is correct, I am unable to say. There are those who 
give a different account of the heifer and of the colossal 
figures, affirming that, on occasion of a disagreement between 
Mycerinus and his daughter, she, through chagrin, destroyed 
herself, and was thus deposited by her father, while her mother 
cut off the hands of the maids who had taken part with him 
against his daughter ; for which reason these statues are 
mutilated in the same manner. But I think this is an idle tale ; 
at least what relates to the hands of the colossal figures ; for 
when I saw them it appeared that the hands had fallen from 
lecay, in the course of ages ; and indeed they were then lying 
at the feet of the statues. The heifer above mentioned, is 
covered in part by a purple mantle : the neck and head are 
thickly embossed with gold. Between the horns is a golden 
disk, representing the sun. The heifer is not in a standing 
posture ; but kneeling, and in size is equal to the largest animal 
of the kind. Once in every year it is brought from its chamber, 
and sees the day ; on which occasion the Egyptians lament 
a god not to be named by me while speaking on such a sub- 
ject. It is said that the daughter, while dying, entreated of 
her father that once in every year she might see the sun. 

After the death of his daughter, a second calamity befel 
this king. — An oracular message was sent to him from Butos, 
to this effect — " That he had six years only to live, and should 
die in the seventh." He, taking this in ill part, returned to 

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MYCERINUS. 161 

the god a reproachful answer, complaining that his father 
and uncle who had closed the temples, and had neglected the 
gods, and ruined their people, had both lived to an advanced 
age ; while he who was religious, must so speedily die." In 
answer to this reproach a second message arrived from the 
oracle, which ran thus, — " He must so speedily die because 
he had not accomplished that which it was necessary should 
take place ; for Egypt was fated to be oppressed during one 
hundred and fifty years : — this had been understood by the 
two kings, his predecessors, but not by him." Hearing this, 
Mycerinus perceived himself already condemned : he there- 
fore caused a great number of lamps to be prepared, which 
were every night to be lit ; and he passed day and night 
without intermission in drinking and voluptuousness ; or in 
wandering through the plains and groves wherever he knew 
that soft delights were followed. This he did with the inten- 
tion of falsifying the oracle, (or, of defrauding it) for in turn- 
ing the nights into days, he thought to make twelve years of 
six. This king also left a pyramid — much smaller indeed 
than that of his father, each of the four sides measuring 280 feet. 
Half of its height is faced with Ethiopian marble. Some 
Greeks, there are, who erroneously say that this pyramid was 
raised by the courtezan Rhodopis. To me it is evident that 
they know not who Rhodopis was, or they would not have 
attributed to her a pyramid which must have cost — so to 
speak— countless thousands of talents. Besides, Rhodopis 
flourished in the reign, not of Mycerinus, but of Amasis, very 
many years after the time of the kings who built these pyramids. 
Rhodopis was a woman of Thrace, the slave of Jadmon (son) 
of Hepluestopolis, the Samian ; and she was the fellow- 
servant of JEsop the fabulist. That iEsop belonged to Jadmon 
is proved, among other things, by this — that after the Del- 
phians, at the instigation of the oracle, had often made pro- 
clamation for some one who would take up (or receive) the 
forfeit imposed on them for the death of iEsop,* no one ap- 
peared but the grandson, of Jadmon, who also bore that name, 
and he took it up. iEsop therefore must have been the slave 
of his ancestor, 
(134) m 



162 HISTORY OF EGYPT. 

Rhodopis was brought into Egypt by Xanthus the Samian, 
and was there redeemed at an enormous price by a citizen of 
Mitylene, named Charaxus, son of Scamandronymus, and 
brother of Sappho the song-writer. Rhodopis thus liberated, 
remained in Egypt, where she amassed great wealth — that is 
to say, great for such a one as Rhodopis ; yet not such as 
should enable her to build a pyramid like this. Riches so 
prodigious must not be attributed to this woman ; for the 
value of the tenth part of her fortune may still be seen by any 
one who wishes. Rhodopis, wishing to leave a memorial of 
herself in Greece, imagined such a thing as no one else ever 
dreamed of offering at a temple. — She expended the tenth part 
of her possessions in making an immense number of iron spits, 
for roasting oxen : these she dedicated at Delphi ; and they are 
at this day piled up behind the altar which the Chians placed 
opposite the temple. This woman became so celebrated — 
even beyond those of Nancratis — that her name was known 
throughout Greece. A like fame, though not to an equal 
degree, was afterwards acquired by a woman named Archi- 
dica. Charaxus who redeemed Rhodopis, returned to Mity- 
lene, and was severely satirized by Sappho. But enough of 
Rhodopis. 

Asychis, as the priests affirm, reigned after Mycerinus. 
He built the most spacious and the most beautiful of the 
porticos to the temple of Vulcan — that on the eastern side. 
All these porches are sculptured and adorned with a thousand 
architectural devices; but this more than any. Under this 
prince, it is said, there prevailed a stagnation of money, to 
relieve which a law was given to the Egyptians, allowing a 
man to pawn the (embalmed) corpse of his father, as security 
for a debt : and as a consequence of this law, the lender ac- 
quired an exclusive right of occupying the family depositary 
of the borrower ; so that if he who had surrendered this 
valuable pledge refused to repay the debt, neither he, nor any 
of his house, could be buried in the family vault; nor indeed 
in any other place. This king, wishing to surpass all the 
kings of Egypt, his predecessors, determined to construct a 
pyramid of bricks. It bears an inscription, cut in stone, to 

(136) 



ANYSIS. 103 

the following purport : — " Contemn me not in comparing me 
with the pyramids of stone. For I excel them as much as 
Jupiter excels the other gods. — I was constructed with bricks, 
formed of clay, that was lifted from the bottom of the lake 
by a scoop." Such were the deeds of this king. 

After him reigned a blind king, named Anysis, of the B. C. 
city Anysis. During his reign Egypt was invaded by a large 
army of Ethiopians, under Sabacon, their king. The blind 
Anysis retired, and took refuge in the marshes ; and the 
Ethiopian ruled Egypt fifty years : the acts of his reign were 
such as these. — When any Egyptian committed a crime, he 
refused to inflict death ; but enjoined the criminal, according 
to the proportion of his guilt, to raise a mound of earth at 
the city to which he belonged. By this means the cities be- 
came elevated much higher than they were raised even in the 
time of Sesostris, by those who dug the trenches. It seems 
to me that among all the cities of Egypt, in this way elevated, 
none was so much raised as Bubastis, the city where stands 
the justly celebrated temple of Bubastis. Other temples are 
indeed more spacious, or more costly ; but none excels this in 
the agreeableness of its aspect. Bubastis, in the Greek 
tongue, is Diana. The plan of this temple may be thus 
described. Excepting the entrance, the entire precincts are 
insulated ; for there are canals from the Nile, which do not 
communicate — each, after surrounding one side, terminating at 
the entrance to the temple. The width of these canals is a 
hundred feet, and they are overshadowed with trees. The 
porch rises to the height of ten fathoms, and is adorned with 
admirable figures, six cubits in height. The temple, which is 
situated in the centre of the city, is exposed to view on every 
side ; for while the city around has been elevated, the temple 
stands on its original level ; and so may every where be seen 
(as at the bottom of a basin). The outer wall is covered with 
sculptured figures. Within the precincts there is a sacred 
grove of large trees, surrounding the great edifice, which con- 
tains the image of the goddess : the temple (including the whole 
of the sacred spot) measures a furlong, both in length and 
breadth. Opposite to the entrance is a causeway of stone, 
(138) m 2 



164 HISTORY OF EGYPT. 

nearly three furlongs in length, and 400 feet in width: this 
road passes through the principal square of the city, and runs 
east and west to the temple of Mercury. Throughout the way 
there are lofty trees. Such is this temple. 

The retreat of the Ethiopian king from Egypt happened, as 
they say, in the following manner : — He took his departure 
from the circumstance of having seen a vision, in which he 
thought he saw a man standing before him, who advised him to 
collect together all the priests of Egypt, and cut them asunder. 
After seeing this vision, he is reported to have declared, that he 
thought the gods had herein presented him with an occasion on 
which, by violating all principles of religion, he might become 
obnoxious to calamities from the gods themselves, or from men. 
This he would not do ; but thought rather that the time was 
arrived when he was destined to quit the throne of Egypt : 
for while he was yet in Ethiopia, the oracle consulted by the 
Ethiopians had declared to him that he should govern Egypt 
fifty years. As therefore that period was now expired, and 
as moreover he had been affrighted by this vision of the night, 
Sabacon voluntarily departed from the country. When he had 
retired, the blind king, leaving the marshes, again governed 
Egypt, after spending the interval of fifty years upon an 
island, which he had embanked with ashes and earth. Eor 
when the Egyptians, without the knowledge of the Ethiopian, 
brought him their appointed contributions of corn, he com- 
manded them, with their gift, to bring ashes also. This island 
none before Amyrtaeus had been able to find : — his predecessors 
during more than 700 (or 500) years, had sought for it in vain. 
The name of this island is Elbo ; it measures every way about 
ten furlongs. 
B. C. After Anysis, a priest of Vulcan, named Sethon, reigned. 

He neglected and contemned, as useless, the military order in 
Egypt ; and among other dishonours which he put upon them, 
he took from them the allotment of acres which, under the 
former kings had been given them — twelve to each. After- 
wards, when Sanacharib * king of the Arabians and Syrians, 
invaded Egypt with a great army, not one of the military class 
would come to his aid. The (royal) priest, deprived of help, 

(141) 



715. 



SETHONv 165 

entered a temple, and before the image, deplored the evils with 
which he was threatened : as he bitterly wept, sleep fell upon 
him, and he saw in vision the god standing by, and bidding him 
take courage, assuring him he should suffer no ill if he. opposed 
the Arabian army; for he himself would send him auxiliaries. 
Thus confirmed, the king led forth such of the Egyptians as 
were willing to follow him ; and formed his camp at Pelusium, 
where the invading army was to enter. Among his followers 
there was not a single warrior ; but only shopkeepers, artificers, 
and the very dregs of the people. After he had reached this 
station, during the night, a deluge of field mice spread through 
the enemies' camp, devouring their quivers, their bow-strings, 
and the straps of their shields ; so that in the morning, finding 
themselves stripped of their arms, they took to flight, and many 
of them were slain. A statue of this king now stands in the 
temple of Vulcan, holding in his hand a mouse, with an in- 
scription in these words — " Whoever looks at me, let him be 
pious." 

Thus far I have reported what I learned from the Egyptians, 
and their priests, who affirmed that from the first king to this 
priest of Vulcan, there were 341 generations of men; and 
that there had been the same number of high-priests and 
of kings. Now 300 generations of men are equivalent to 
10,000 years; three generations filling one hundred years. 
The forty-one remaining generations make 1340 years. So 
that, as they say, it is 11340 years since any god has as- 
sumed the human form ; nor had such an event taken place 
before, nor has it since happened among the Egyptian kings. 
Within the above-mentioned period, they affirm, the sun has 
four times risen contrary to his common course ; and twice he 
has risen where now he sets : and where now he rises, twice he 
has set. Yet these alterations have produced no changes in 
Egypt — neither in the productions of the earth, nor in those of 
the river ; nor have they occasioned diseases or deaths. 

The priests of Jupiter adopted the same course with me as 
they did with Hecatzeus, the historian ; who when at Thebes 
was reckoning himself to have descended from a god — his 
ancestor in the sixteenth remove. They led me, though I 
(143) m 3 



166 HISTORY OF EGYPT. 

made no such pretension, as they led him, within the interior of 
a spacious temple, where they shewed to me, and numbered, 
as many colossal statues of wood as there had been high 
priests ; for every pontiff, during his life, places there a statue 
of himself. These the priests shewed, and numbering, declar- 
ing that, beginning with the one last deceased, they ascended in 
a direct line throughout, from son to father. Hecataeus, as I 
said, claiming descent from a god, the priests confuted by 
opposing to his reckoning this line of priests, and they refused 
to admit that a man had been born of a god, and affirmed 
that each of these colossal figures represented a Piromis, born 
of a Piromis, to the number of 345, not one of whom, from 
the last to the first, was born of either god or hero. This title 
Piromis, if translated into our language, means good and vir- 
tuous. These personages represented by the statues I have 
mentioned, were, as they affirmed, altogether different from 
gods : yet they said that before the time of these men, there 
were gods who ruled in Egypt, and who dwelt with men ; 
and that among them one always exercised supreme power. 
Orus, son of Osiris, whom the Greeks call Apollo, was, they 
say, the last of these gods who reigned in Egypt : he had 
dethroned Typhoh. Osiris is, by the Greeks, named Dionysus 
(Bacchus.) 

Now among the Greeks, Hercules, Bacchus, and Pan, are 
reckoned the most recent of the gods. Whereas among the 
Egyptians, Pan is of the most ancient order, being one of the 
eight primitive deities; while Hercules comes in the second 
rank ; being one of the twelve, and Bacchus in the third ; as 
he sprung from the twelve. How many years elapsed from 
the age of Hercules till the reign of Amasis, I have already 
declared, as it was communicated to me by the Egyptians. 
Pan they place then at the most remote period — Bacchus at a 
less distance; yet between him and Amasis they reckon 15,000 
years. And in making these computations, the Egyptians 
profess to have the most exact and certain information ; as 
these reckonings have always been attended to, and always 
recorded. From Bacchus, son of Semele, daughter of Cad- 
mus, to our own times, is a distance of about 1600 years. 

(145) 



THE TWELVE KINGS. 167 

From Hercules, son of Alcmena, less than 900 years. And 
from Pan, son of Penelope— for from her and Mercury, accord- 
ing to the Greeks, Pan received his being; till my time, 
not 800 years have elapsed : that is to say, he was born after 
the Trojan war. 

Of these two accounts let every one adopt that which to 
him shall seem the most credible. My own opinion is declared. 
If these also, namely Hercules, son of Amphitryon, and 
Bacchus, son of Semele, and Pan son of Penelope, were 
persons known in Greece, and who had grown old there, then 
it must be said that— mere men as they were — they bore the 
names of those primitive gods. But now, as to Bacchus, the 
Greeks affirm that, as soon as born, Jupiter sewed him up in 
his thigh, and bore him to Nysa, which is beyond Egypt, in 
Ethiopia. What became of the infant Bacchus they do not 
inform us. To me it has become manifest that the Greeks 
learned the names of these gods after those -of the other 
divinities, and that from the time they were acquainted with 
them, they date their existence. A.nd this also is the opinion 
of the Egyptians. 



SECTION VI. 

MIDDLE, AND MORE AUTHENTIC PERIOD OF EGYPTIAN 
HISTORY. 

I now proceed to narrate those events in the history of 
Egypt which are confirmed by the testimony of other 
nations, concurring with that of the natives ; — still inter- 
spersing some facts which fell under my own observa- 
tion. 

On the death of Sethon, priest of Vulcan, the Egyp- 
tians became free; yet not so as to be for a moment 
without kings. But they established twelve — dividing 
the whole of Egypt into so many parts. These twelve 
(147) m 4 



1C8 HISTORY OF EGYPT. 

kings intermarried, and reigned on the principle that no 
one should overthrow the others ; nor seek to possess 
more than his neighbours ; but that they should main- 
tain among themselves the strictest friendship. These 
constitutions they formed and defended with the most 
binding sanctions; — especially because, at the very mo- 
ment when the twelve governments were set up, an 
oracle pronounced — " That he among them who should 
perform a libation in the temple of Vulcan with a brazen 
cup, would reign over all Egypt." — They were accus- 
tomed to assemble in all the temples. 

These kings, resolving to leave a common monument 
of themselves, decreed to form a labyrinth, a short dis- 
tance above the lake of Moeris, and nearly opposite the 
city of Crocodiles. This work I have seen ; and it sur- 
passes its fame. And if any one were to put together 
all the munitions and other works which the Greeks 
have executed, they would appear inferior in labour 
and expense to this labyrinth alone : we must not except 
even the justly celebrated temple at Ephesus, nor that at 
Samos. The pyramids indeed surpass expectation ; and 
any one of them might well be matched against many 
of the greatest works of Grecian art put together. But 
the labyrinth surpasses even the pyramids. This struc- 
ture consists of twelve contiguous roofed courts (or halls) 
whose entrances are opposed to each other — six towards 
the north, and six towards the south. The same outer 
wall surrounds all these halls. The chambers are double, 
one set being subterraneous ; the other set, placed upon 
those, rises above the surface : they are in number 3000, 
half above, and half below. The upper chambers we 
passed through, and inspected, and therefore speak of 
them from ocular knowledge ; but the lower I must de- 
scribe on report only ; for the Egyptians who were the 
wardens of the place, would by no means show them, 
saying that in thein were contained the sepulchres of the 

(148) 



THE LABYRINTH. 109 

kings who built the labyrinth, and of the sacred croco- 
diles. What we say of these lower chambers rests there- 
fore on the authority of our informers. The upper, 
which surpass human works, we ourselves beheld. The 
passages through the vaults, and the winding ways 
through the courts — various as they are, present innu- 
merable wonders. You pass from a hall into chambers, 
and from chambers into closets ; and from them into other 
vaulted rooms. The roofs, as well as the walls of all 
these chambers, are of stone ; and the latter are sculp- 
tured with many figures. Each hall is surrounded with 
columns of white marble, joined in the most exact manner. 
The last turn of the labyrinth presents a pyramid, forty 
fathoms in height, and covered with large sculptures ; — 
the path to it is underground. 

Such is the labyrinth : and yet the lake named from 
Moeris, near which the labyrinth is situated, excites even 
more admiration. The circuit of this lake measures 
3600 furlongs, or sixty Egyptian lines ; an extent equal 
to the sea coast of Egypt. Its greatest length is from 
north to south ; and its greatest depth is fifty fathoms. 
That it is an excavation, made by the hand of man, is 
evident ; for in the middle, nearly, of the lake, stand two 
pyramids, each rising fifty fathoms above the level of the 
water, and which measure as much below that level : on 
the summit of each is a colossal statue of stone, seated 
on a throne. These pyramids are therefore one hundred 
fathoms in height; — one hundred fathoms being just 
equal to a stadium (furlong) of six plethra. The fathom 
is six feet, or four cubits. The foot consists of four 
palms ; the cubit of six. The water of this lake does 
not spring from the soil, which is utterly destitute of 
moisture; but flows from the Nile by a trench. Six 
months of the year the current sets into the lake ; and 
during six it returns. In the season of this refluence, a 
daily revenue, amounting to a talent of silver accrues to 
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170 HISTORY OF EGYPT. 

the royal treasury from the produce of the fish : — during 
the flow, the fishery yields daily twenty minse. 

The people of the country affirmed, that this lake com- 
municates, by an underground passage, with the Syrtian 
gulph in Libya ; it makes a turn towards the west, through 
the midland near the hills above Memphis. Not seeing 
any where the earth raised by this excavation, and being 
curious to learn how it had been disposed of, I inquired 
of those who inhabited the margin of the lake, where the 
earth might be which had been removed in forming it. 
They told me — and I readily believed them — that it had 
been borne away. — For I remembered to have heard a 
similar fact that had taken place at Nineveh, in Assyria. 
Some thieves devised the means of carrying away the 
vast treasures of Sardanapalus, king of Nineveh, which 
were preserved in subterranean depositaries. These 
thieves began digging in their own house ; and proceeded 
to work their way by measurement underground, towards 
the royal palace. The earth removed from the passage 
they threw every night into the Tigris, which ran through 
Nineveh ; and so they went on till they had effected 
their purpose. Such, as I understood, was the means 
adopted in digging the Egyptian lake; except, indeed, 
that the removal took place during the day, 'instead of 
the night ; for as fast as the earth was dug, the Egyptians 
carried it to the Nile ; the river receiving, dispersed it. 

While these twelve kings continued to administer 
justice, it happened that on an occasion when they were 
performing a sacrifice in the temple of Vulcan, the last 
day of the solemnities, they were to make a libation. The 
high-priest brought forth the golden cups, with which they 
were wont to pour forth the wine; but mistaking the 
number, he brought eleven for the twelve. Consequently 
he who stood the last of them — Psammitichus, not having 
a cup, took off his brazen helmet, and used it for making 
(he libation. — All the other kings — as on other occasions, 

(151) 



PSAMMITICLHUS. 171 

so now, wore helmets. Psammitichus used his helmet 
without any sinister intention. But the others reflected 
upon the deed, and compared it with the oracular pre- 
diction which had affirmed that he who should perform a 
libation with a brazen cup would be sole king of Egypt. 
Finding- on examination (Jby torture ? — /3acrai'i£ovr6e) that 
Psammitichus had acted without design, they would not 
adjudge him to death; but yet thought proper to banish 
him to the marshes, and to strip him of the greater part of 
his power ; forbidding him to leave that district, or to 
hold intercourse with the rest of Egypt. 

This same Psammitichus had heretofore fled from Sa- 
bacon, the Ethiopian, who had put to death his father 
Neco : and he had taken refuge in Syria : but when the 
Ethiopian, from the influence of the dream, retired, Psam- 
mitichus Was brought back by the Egyptians of the Saitic 
district ; and now after he had reigned, was again com- 
pelled to go into exile among the marshes, on account of 
the helmet. Knowing himself to be aggrieved by them, 
he entertained the thought of avenging himself upon his 
persecutors. When with this view he sent to consult the 
oracle of Latona, at Butis — an oracle which the Egyp- 
tians deem less fallacious than any other ; and there came a 
reply announcing ' that retribution would arrive from the 
sea, when men of brass should appear.' To this message he 
gave little heed, thinking it utterly incredible that men of 
brass should come to his aid. But not long afterwards 
some Ionian and Carian pirates, driven by stress of weather, 
made the Egyptian coast, and came ashore — they were 
clad in brazen armour. It happened that an Egyptian, 
seeing them, who had never before seen men panoplied in 
brass, arrived in the marshes, and announced to Psam- 
mitichus that brazen men had arrived and were ravaging 
the campaign. He, gathering from this that the oracle 
was accomplished, made friendship with these lonians 
and Carians ; and promising great things to them, engaged 
(152) 



172 HISTORY OF EGYPT. 

them in his service. Having prevailed with them, he, 
by their aid, conjoined with the Egyptians of his party, 
vanquished the kings. 

Psammitichus having made himself master of all Egypt, 
constructed a porch to the temple of Vulcan, at Memphis. 
It fronts the south. He built also a hall for Apis, where 
that divinity is fed when he appears. — Apis, in Greek, 
is Epaphus. It is opposite to the porch, and is sur- 
rounded with a colonade ornamented with sculptures. 
Instead of pillars there are colossal figures, twelve cubits 
in height. 

Upon the Ionians, and those who with them had aided 
him, Psammitichus bestowed lands on the opposite banks 
of the Nile : these lands were called The Camps. He 
fulfilled towards them also, all the promises he had made, 
and committed to them Egyptian children, who were to 
be taught the Greek language. The interpreters now 
found in Egypt are the descendants of these scholars. 
These Ionians and Carians long inhabited the lands 
allotted to them : they are situated near the sea, a short 
distance below Babastis, and at the Pelusian mouth of 
the Nile. Afterwards, in the time of Amasis, these 
Greeks were removed to Memphis, where they formed 
the king's guard against the Egyptians. From the re- 
sidence of these Greeks in Egypt it has followed that 
we have held frequent intercourse with that country, 
and by this means have become accurately informed of 
whatever has since taken place there, including the reign 
of Psammitichus. These were the first strangers, speak- 
ing another language, who had resided in Egypt. Even 
in my time there were to be seen, on the lands from 
which they were removed, vestiges of their docks, and 
the remains of their demolished habitations. — Thus was 
Psammitichus made master of Egypt. 

[I have already frequently mentioned the principal Egyptian 

(155) 



TEMPLE OF LATONA. 173 

oracle, and it well deserves a more particular description. — 
This oracle is sacred to Latona, at Butos — a large city before 
mentioned, which those who arrive from the main, see op- 
posite to them soon after entering the Sebennytic mouth of 
the Nile. In the same city there is also a temple of Apollo 
and of Diana, besides this of Latona. The latter, in which 
is the oracle, is of great magnitude, and has a porch ten 
fathoms in height. But of all the admirable objects that are 
here to be seen, that which to me appeared the most amazing 
is a temple or chapel of Latona, standing within the sacred 
precincts, formed of a single stone — from the base to the sum- 
mit — from end to end : and the walls {of the sides and back) 
are of the same dimensions — namely, forty cubits every way. 
The roof is formed by another stone, which projects four cubits 
beyond the sides. This then is, in my opinion, the most 
wonderful of all that is to be seen in the precincts. Next to it, 
I should mention the island called Chemmis : it is in a deep 
and spacious lake, which adjoins the temple of Latona. The 
Egyptians affirm, that this island floats; but for my own part 
I did not perceive that it swam or moved ; and I was as- 
tounded at hearing that there could be a floating island. Upon 
it stands a spacious temple of Apollo, and three altars {or, 
altars of three sides). The island is thickly planted with palm 
trees, and other kinds, both fruit-bearing and fruitless. The 
Egyptians, in affirming that this island floats, add, that before 
it floated, Latona, who is one of the eight deities that first ex- 
isted, dwelt at Butos, where the oracle now is : and that having 
been entrusted with Apollo by I sis, she hid and saved him in 
what is now called the floating island, when Typhon arrived 
who sought to find the son of Osiris. For they say that Apollo 
and Diana are the offspring of Bacchus and Isis, and that 
Latona was their nurse and preserver. In the language of 
Egypt, Apollo is called Orns, Ceres Isis, and Diana Bubastis. 
It was from this Egyptian tradition, and from nothing else, 
that iEschylus, son of Euphorion, first of the early poets, bor- 
rowed the tale that Diana was the daughter of Ceres. On 
this occasion it was, as they say, that the island became 
unfixed.] 
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174 HISTORY OF EGYPT. 

Psammitichus reigned in Egypt fifty-four years; 
during twenty-nine of which he sat down before Azotus, 
a large city of Syria, besieging, till at length he took it. 
No city that we have knowledge of has endured so long 
a siege. To this king succeeded his son Neco, who was 
the first to undertake a canal, leading into the Red Sea, 
and which after him Darius carried on: it extends a 
distance of four days' voyage, and its breadth is such that 
two galleys may work their oars abreast in it. The canal 
derives its water from the Nile, a short distance above 
Bubastis : it discharges itself into the Red Sea, near 
an Arabian town called Patumus. The excavation was 
commenced in that part of the Egyptian plain which 
borders upon Arabia. The mountain which stretches 
towards Memphis, and which contains the quarries, is 
above this plain, at no great distance. The canal, com- 
mencing at the foot of this hill, was continued for some 
length, from west to east, and then turning through the 
defiles, left the mountains, and was carried southward 
into the Arabian Gulph. The shortest track from the 
northern sea to the Red Sea, which is the same as the 
southern sea, passes by mount Casius, which divides 
Egypt from Syria : for this mountain is but 1000 furlongs 
from the Arabian Gulph. But the canal is so much longer 
than this, as it is more tortuous. In digging this canal 
in the reign of Neco, 120,000 Egyptians perished. He 
desisted in the midst of the work, being opposed by an 
oracular prediction, which declared, that " He wrought 
for a barbarian." — The Egyptians call all those barba- 
rians who do not speak their language. 

Having desisted from this work, Neco betook himself to 
military exploits. He therefore constructed galleys, some 
on the northern sea, and some on the Arabian Gulph 
for the Red Sea. Of these vessels the stocks {or docks) may 
yet be seen. The fleets he employed, as occasion served 
(or, to supply his armies on their marches). Neco, in- 

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NECO. 175 

vading the Syrians, overthrew them at Magdolus, and 
then took Cadytis, a great city of Syria.* The dress 
he wore in these actions he dedicated to Apollo, sending 
it to Brachidas, of the Milesians. After this, having 
reigned in all sixteen years, he died, leaving his kingdom 
to his son Psammis. 

[During the reign of Psammis, there arrived in Egypt mes- 
sengers from the Eleans. These people boasted that they had 
earned a fame surpassing that of any other men, by the just 
and excellent regulations they had established at the Olympian 
games. And they believed that not even the Egyptians— the 
wisest of mankind, could invent any thing more admirable. 
The Elean messengers, on their arrival in Egypt, declared the 
purpose of their visit. The king forthwith summoned those of 
the Egyptians who were reputed the most wise. When they 
Were assembled, they listened while the Eleans described what 
took place at the games by their appointment. After men- 
tioning all, they said they had come to learn " If the Egyptians 
could produce any institutions more equitable than these." The 
Egyptians, having consulted together, inquired of the Eleans 
whether their own citizens contended in the games. To which 
they replied, that whoever would, whether Eleans or others, 
were free to come forward in the games. The Egyptians then 
said, " If it were so, they had greatly sinned against equity; 
for it was impossible but what they should favour a man of their 
own town, to the prejudice of a stranger. If, therefore, they 
wished to establish rules truly equitable, and if, indeed, they 
had come to Egypt for advice with this intention, they should 
establish contests in which strangers only— to the exclusion of 
all Eleans— should be admitted." Such was the advice given 
by the Egyptians to the Eleans.] 



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176 
SECTION VII. 

LATER PERIOD OF EGYPTIAN HISTORY. 

B. c. Psammis, after reigning six years only, made an ex- 

pedition into Ethiopia, and presently dying, was suc- 
ceeded by his son Apries ; who, next to his great grand- 
father Psammitichus, enjoyed greater prosperity than any 
former Egyptian king, during five-and-twenty years of 
his reign. Within that period he led an army against 
Sidon, and fought the Tyrian at sea. But when the 
fated time came that he should suffer misfortunes, it 
happened — as I shall more fully narrate when I come to 
speak of Libyan affairs (Melpomene, 159), and briefly 
here — that he sent forth an army against the Cyrenseans, 
which was almost cut to pieces. The surviving Egyptians, 
murmuring against Apries, imputed to him the design of 
sending them out to be destroyed, in order that, after- 
wards, he might more securely govern the rest of the 
people. They therefore revolted from him. Those 
who returned to their homes, as well as the friends of 
such as had perished, enraged against him, openly 
rebelled. 

Apries being informed of this, sent Amasis to appease 
them with words. When he arrived, and endeavoured 
to win the Egyptians to forsake their enterprise, one of 
them, standing behind him, placed a helmet on his head, 
declaring that he thereby appointed him to the kingdom. 
That this was not disagreeable to Amasis he presently 
made manifest. For no sooner had the revolters made 
him their king, than he prepared to lead them against 
Apries. Apries learning this, despatched a man in whom 
principally he confided, named Paterbemis, enjoining him 
to bring. Amasis alive. When he reached the place 
• (1G2) 



APRIES. 177 

where Amasis happened to be on horse-back, Paterbemis 
called to him. But he replied only by an insulting gesture. 
Paterbemis notwithstanding entreated Amasis to return 
to the king, who had sent for him; but he answered, 
" that he was preparing to do so, and that Apries should 
have no reason to complain of his delay ; for he would 
come himself, and bring others with him." Paterbemis 
did not fail to understand the meaning of this reply ; and 
after observing the preparations, made all speed in re- 
turning to the king, that he might declare to him in- 
stantly what was going on. But Apries, seeing Pater- 
bemis return without Amasis, allowed him no room to ex- 
plain ; but giving way to anger, commanded that his 
ears and nose should be cut off. The other Egyptians 
who hitherto had adhered to Apries, seeing a man of such 
rank so shamefully mutilated, restrained themselves no 
longer ; but revolted with the others, and yielded them- 
selves to Amasis. 

When Apries was informed of what had taken place, 
he armed his auxiliaries, and led' them against the 
Egyptians : for he had with him 30,000 Carians and 
Ionians. — He was then at Sais, occupying his spacious 
and magnificent palace in that city. The two armies 
met and prepared to engage near Momemphis. — Apries 
leading the strangers against the Egyptians, and Amasis 
commanding Egyptians against the strangers. 

[There are in Egypt seven classes of persons, namely, the 
priests, the warriors, the herdsmen (or rustics), the swineherds, 
the shopkeepers (or victuallers), the interpreters (or expounders 
of law and religion), and lastly, the pilots (or mariners). 
These are the several classes, and they receive appellations 
derived from the employments they exercise. The warriors are 
called either Calasiries or Hermotybies : and their districts — 
for all Egypt is divided into districts (Nomes), are as follow : — 
The Hermotybies occupy Busiris, Sais, Chemmis, Papremis, 
(165) N 



178 HISTORY OV EGYPT. 

the island Prosopis, the half of Natho. Their full complement 
amounts to 160,000 men. No individual among them learns 
any mechanic trade ; but all are given up to war. The Cala- 
siries occupy the following districts: Thebes, Bubastis, Aphthis, 
Tanis, Mendes, Sebennys, Athrybis, Pharbaethis, Thmuis, 
Onuphis, Anysis, Myecphoris — an island opposite to Bubastis, 
These are the districts of the Calasiries : they may amount, at 
the most, to 250,000 men. Nor are these permitted to exercise 
any craft except that of war : and the profession is hereditary. 

Whether the Greeks have learned this distinction from the 
Egyptians, I am not able certainly to determine, seeing that 
the Thracians, Scythians, Persians, Lydians, and, indeed, 
almost all the Barbarians, hold those of their citizens who learn 
mechanic arts in the lowest rank of honour; and allow this 
discredit to attach even to the posterity of such persons ; while 
those only are deemed noble who have no connection with 
handicrafts ; and especially those who are devoted to the pro- 
fession of arms. All the Greeks have adopted these notions ; 
but especially the Lacedaemonians ; while the Corinthians, less 
than other Greeks, despise artizans. In Egypt the warriors, 
with the priests, enjoy special privileges : — twelve plots 
of ground, free from tribute, are assigned to each : each plot 
measures every way a hundred Egyptian cubits : the Egyp- 
tian cubit is equal to that of Samos. This allotment of 
ground was the right of each. Some other privileges they 
enjoyed only by turns. One thousand of the Calasiries, 
and one also of the Hermotybies, served for a year, as the 
king's body guard ; and while on this duty, besides the parcel 
of ground, there was given to each daily, five pounds weight 
of parched corn (or baked bread), two pounds of beef, and 
four drinks of wine : such was the constant allowance of the 
body guard.] 

The armies meeting — Apries leading his auxiliaries, 
and Amasis with all the Egyptians— near Momemphis, 
they presently engaged. The strangers fought well ; but 
being greatly inferior in numbers, were overcome. It is 

(169) 



AMASIS. 179 

said to have been the opinion of Apries, that not even a 
god could deprive him of his kingdom : so securely did 
he think himself established. Yet, nevertheless, he was 
then vanquished. Being taken alive, he was conducted 
to Sais — once his own residence, but now the royal palace 
of Amasis. For some time he was there entertained, 
and kindly treated by Amasis. But at length, as the 
Egyptians complained that it was not right for him to 
cherish one who was his and their own greatest enemy, 
Amasis abandoned Apries to the Egyptians, who strangled 
him, and then interred him in the family sepulchre. 

[These are in the temple of Minerva, very near the sacred 
edifice, and on the left hand as you enter. All the kings bom 
in this district have been buried by the Sa'ites within this temple. 
And the tomb of Amasis even, is placed there, though at a 
greater distance from the edifice than that of Apries and his 
ancestors. There is in the court of the temple a large chamber 
of stone, ornamented with columns in imitation of palm trees, 
and with other embellishments : in this chamber are seen fold- 
ing doors, within which is the depositary of the dead. At 
Sais also, in the temple of Minerva, behind the chapel, and 
adjoining the wall of the temple, is the sepulchre of him whose 
name on such an occasion as this it would be impious to men- 
tion. Within the sacred precincts stand obelisks of great 
size ; and near them a lake, adorned with a margin of stone ; 
it is circular, well constructed, and in extent, equal, as it 
seemed to me, to that in Delos, called the Circular. On this 
lake they perform the adventures of him : — these performances 
are called mysteries by the Egyptians; and although I am 
well acquainted with all these matters I refrain from speaking 
of them, as I should also of the rites of Ceres, called by the 
Greeks the Thesmophoria (Institutions) of which, though not 
from ignorance, I would say no more than what it is lawful to 
utter. The daughters of Danaus were the persons who brought 
these rites from Egypt, and taught them to the Pelasgian 
women : afterwards, when the Peloponnesus was overrun by 
(171) N 2 



180 HISTORY OF EGYPT. 

the Dorians, these rites were lost, except only among the 
Arcadians, who, not being driven from their lands, preserved 
the ceremonies.] 

Apries being thus removed, Amasis reigned in his 
stead : he was of the district of Sais, and of a city named 
Siuph. At first the Egyptians contemned Amasis, and 
held him in very low esteem ; for he was a man of ignoble 
extraction ; nor had his family become conspicuous. But 
afterwards, without absurd severity, and by a well- imagined 
device, he brought them back. Among a thousand other 
precious vessels, Amasis had a golden pan, in which he 
himself and all his guests, were accustomed to wash 
their feet. This vessel he broke up, and formed from 
it an image of a divinity, which he solemnly set up in a 
frequented part of the city. The Egyptians flocking to 
the image, paid it the most devout adoration. When 
Amasis was informed of this, he convoked the people, 
and made known the whole truth, saying, — " This image 
was formed from a wash-pot which lately we used for the 
vilest purposes : — then we cleaned our feet in it : — anon, 
we reverently worship it. Now," said he, " it has 
happened to me as to this vessel : once, indeed, I was 
one of the people; but now I am your king. Thus I 
enjoin you to honour and regard me." By this means 
he won the Egyptians, and taught them that they owed 
him their service. 

The plan he followed in conducting his affairs was 
this : — From early in the morning till the time of full- 
market, he assidiiously despatched the causes that were 
brought before him. After that time, he drank and 
jested with his companions, indulging in low jokes and 
pleasantries. His friends offended by this conduct, re- 
proved him. " Sire," said they, " you behave not in a 
manner fitting your station: you descend too low. 
You ought to sit gravely on a venerable throne, through 

(173) 



AMASIS. 181 

the day, transacting business. Thus shall the Egyptians, 
knowing themselves to be governed by a great man, 
speak better of you. At present your behaviour is alto- 
gether unkingly." To this reproof he replied. " Those 
who use the bow stretch the cord when they would 
employ it; and afterwards release it. The bow ever 
bent, breaks ; nor can serve its purpose when most 
needed. Such is the constitution of man. — If always he 
will be intently occupied, and never abandon himself to 
merriment, before he is aware he will become either mad 
or paralytic. Well knowing this, I divide my time between 
business and pleasure." Thus he answered his friends. 

It is said of Amasis, that while a private person, he 
had been addicted to drinking and jesting, and was any 
thing rather than a man of business. And moreover, 
that when the means of supporting his pleasures failed 
him, he was accustomed to make predatory excursions. 
On these occasions, when accused by one and another of 
having possessed himself of their goods, which he denied, 
both parties would refer themselves to some common 
oracle, to decide the controversy : by many he was con- 
victed, and by many also suffered to escape. When, 
therefore, he became king, all those gods who had 
absolved him of the charge of theft, he neglected, dis- 
regarding their temples, and making no provision for their 
maintenance, deeming them unworthy of respect, and 
having only lying responses to offer. But those which 
had convicted him of theft he esteemed as truly divine, 
and possessing authentic responses ; and he treated them 
accordingly. 

At Sais, Amasis constructed a most admirable portico 
to the temple of Minerva, surpassing any building of the 
kind, both in height and extent, and in the size and 
quality of the stones. He placed also there colossal 
statues, and androsphinxes of vast magnitude: and, 
moreover, brought together, for the repair of the temples, 
(175) n 3 



182 HISTORY OF EGYPT. 

stones of prodigious size. Of these, some were brought 
from the quarries opposite to Memphis, and some of 
surpassing bulk, from Elephantine — a distance of twenty 
days' sailing from Sais. Among these things, not the 
least admirable — in truth the most so — is an edifice 
formed from a single stone, which was brought from 
Elephantine. Three years were consumed in conveying 
it ; during which time two thousand men — all of the 
class called Mariners (or pilots) — were employed in the 
labour. This structure measures, in length, twenty 
cubits ; its width is fourteen, and its height eight : this 
is the external measurement of the house-of-one-stone. 
The internal measurements are, eighteen cubits and 
twenty digits, in length, by twelve cubits wide : the 
height five cubits. This chapel stands beside the entrance: 
it was not drawn within the precincts, which circumstance 
they account for by saying, that the architect, while the 
work was in progress towards its destined site, wearied 
with the toil, in which so long a time had been consumed, 
heaved a deep sigh : Amasis taking this sigh to heart, 
(or thinking it portentous,) would not suffer it to be 
drawn any further. Others, indeed, say, that it was* not 
brought within the precincts because one of the workmen, 
in using a lever, was crushed. 

Amasis dedicated, in all the more renowned temples, 
gifts which from their magnitude claim attention ; as 
for instance, the supine colossus at Memphis, in front of 
the temple of Vulcan — in length seventy-five feet. Upon 
the same base stand two colossal figures, wrought in 
Ethiopian marble, each measuring twenty feet : one on 
the one side, the other on the opposite side of the edifice. 
There is at Sais a similar statue, lying in the same 
manner as that at Memphis. It was Amasis also, who 
constructed at Memphis, the spacious and most beautiful 
temple of Isis. 

Under Amasis Egypt is said to have enjoyed an unex- 

(176) 



AMASIS^ 183 

ampled prosperity, both in the fertility spread over the 
land by the river, and in the products of the industry of 
the people ; and it is affirmed, that Egypt then contained 
twenty thousand inhabited cities. This Amasis it was 
who established among the Egyptians the law that every 
man, once in each year, should declare to the magistrate 
of his district, whence he had derived his living: in 
default of doing so, or if he failed to show that he had 
followed an honest calling, he was adjudged to die (or he 
ivas stretched on the rack till he died). Solon, the 
Athenian, taking this law from Egypt, gave it to his 
countrymen, who thinking it liable to no objection, have 
ever since continued to observe it. 

Amasis was an admirer of the Greeks ; and besides 
other favours, granted to some of them, gave up the city 
of Naucratis, for the residence of those who arrived in 
Egypt. And to those who did not wish to settle in the 
country, but visited it only on trading voyages, he granted 
lands, where they might erect altars and temples to the 
gods. 

[The most spacious of their temples, as well as the most cele- 
brated, and the most frequented, is that called — the Grecian, 
erected at the common charge of the following cities : — Of the 
Ionians — Chios, Teos, Phocaea, and Clazomenae : — Of the 
Dorians — Rhodes, Cnidus, Halicarnassus and Phaselis : — Of the 
iEolians — Mitylene alone. These are the proprietors of this tem- 
ple ; and these only have right to appoint presidents of the mart. 
Those other cities which claim this right, pretend to that which 
does not belong to them. Distinct from this temple, the people 
of JEgina have consecrated a temple to Jupiter, for themselves ; 
— the Samians one to Juno ; and the Milesians one to Apollo. 
Anciently, there was in Egypt only one emporium (of foreign 
commerce,) namely, that at Naucratis, and whoever arrived at 
any other mouth of the Nile, was obliged to take oath, that he 
came there unwittingly, after which adjuration he was required 
forthwith to proceed in the same vessel to the Canobic mouth; 
(179) n 4 



184 HISTORY OF EGYPT. 

or, if prevented doing so by contrary winds, to transport his 
cargo in country barges round the Delta to Naucratis : — so were 
the privileges of this city secured. When the old temple at 
Delphi was by accident burned, the Amphictyons fixed the 
sum of 300 talents to be expended in building that which 
now exists ; and the Delphians were charged with a fourth 
part of the whole, as their share. They therefore wandered 
from city to city, collecting donations ; and from Egypt bore 
away no inconsiderable contributions. For Amasis gave them 
a thousand talents of alum ; and the Egyptian Greeks twenty 
pounds. 

With the Cyrenzeans, Amasis formed friendship and alliance, 
and resolved to take a wife from that people, moved either by 
his feeling of amity towards them, or by a wish to marry a woman 
of Grecian extraction. The lady he espoused, named Ladice, was 
the daughter of an illustrious Cyrenaean, by some called Battus, 
by others Arcesilaus,by others Critobulus. For some time after 
his marriage, the wife of Amasis had no child, and he, accusing 
her of using enchantments, threatened her with a cruel death. 
Ladice denied the charge, yet without mitigating the animosity 
of her husband. At length she made a vow to Venus, pro- 
mising to send an image of the goddess to Cyrene, if her petition 
should be fulfilled : this happened, and she regained her hus- 
band's affection. Ladice accomplished her vow to the goddess, 
by causing an image to be made, which she sent to Cyrene, and 
which, even in my time, was preserved ; — it turns away from 
the city. When {afterwards) Cambysis conquered Egypt, and 
learned of herself who she was, he sent her unhurt to Cyrene. 

Amasis dedicated offerings in Greece, (the Grecian towns :) 
of these, one was a gilded statue of Minerva, sent to Cyrene, 
together with a likeness of himself, drawn to the life. Then he 
dedicated to Minerva, of Lindus, two images in marble, and a 
thoracle of linen, which deserves to be noticed. Also two sta- 
tues of himself, carved in wood, sent to the spacious temple of 
Juno, in Samos, and which, in my time, stood there behind the 
doors. These gifts to Samos were sent in consequence of the 
friendship subsisting between himself and Polycrates, son of 
Ajax. The offerings sent to Lindus were not made from friend- 

(182) 



AMASia. 185 

ship, but because, as it was said, the temple of Minerva at that 
place was built by the daughters of Danaus, when, fleeing from 
the sons of Egyptus, they arrived there. Amasis also con- 
quered Cyprus, never before subdued; and compelled the 
people to pay him tribute.] 



BOOK III, 



THALIA. 
SECTION I. 

CONQUEST OF EGYPT BY CAMBYSES. 

Against this Amasis Cambyses, son of Cyrus, made 
war, leading with him — besides the other people under 
his sway — the Greeks of Ionia and iEolia. The cause 
of the war was this. Cambyses sending a herald into 
Egypt, demanded the daughter of Amasis, and this de- 
mand he made at the suggestion of a certain Egyptian, 
who was enraged against Amasis, because that prince 
had torn him from his wife and children to send him to 
Persia, when Cyrus had requested Amasis to furnish him 
with the most skilful oculist in Egypt. The Egyptian 
therefore urged Cambyses to ask the daughter of Amasis, 
that either he might give her with grief, or, in withhold- 
ing her, make Cambyses his enemy. But Amasis, 
anxious, and indeed dreading the power of the Persians, 
knew not how either to give or to deny. He well knew 
that it was not with the respect due to a wife that Cam- 
byses would treat his daughter. After consideration, he 
therefore adopted the following course. — There was a 
daughter of Apries, the late king, tall and beautiful, 
and the only survivor of her family : her name was 
Nitetis. This* young lady Amasis sent, richly attired 
and adorned with gold, to Persia, as his own daughter. 

(i) 



CAMBYSES. 187 

After a time, when Cambyses saluted her by the name 
of her father (as he supposed) the damsel thus addressed 
him: — " O king, you have not learned that Amasis has 
imposed upon you in sending me thus attired to you, as 
his own daughter, while in truth 1 am the daughter of 
Apries ; — that king, his lord, whom, when he had incited 
the Egyptians to revolt, he put to death." This informa- 
tion, together with his own cause of quarrel, enraged 
Cambyses, and impelled him to invade Egypt : — at least 
so say the Persians. 

But the Egyptians claim Cambyses as their own, 
saying that he was the son of this daughter of Apries, 
and that it was Cyrus, not Cambyses, who sent to demand 
the daughter of Amasis. In affirming this they err 
greatly. Indeed they cannot be ignorant — for the Egyp- 
tians, if any people, are well acquainted with the Persian 
institutions — that their laws do not permit a spurious 
son to reign, when there is a legitimate son living. Be- 
sides, it is known that Cambyses was born, not of an 
Egyptian mother, but of Cassandane, daughter of Phar- 
naspes of the Achgemenian family. But they have per- 
verted history in order to feign relationship to the house 
of Cyrus. This is the true reason of the story. 

They narrate also another story, to which I give no 
credit. — A certain Persian lady, say they, visiting the 
women of Cyrus, when she saw the children of Cassan- 
dane, who were standing about, excelling others in stature 
and beauty, praised them with lively admiration. " And 
yet," said Cassandane, " though the mother of such 
children, Cyrus treats me with contempt ; while he ho- 
nours her who came from Egypt." This she said in 
envy of Nitetis ; and immediately Cambyses, the eldest 
of her sons, exclaimed— " But now, my mother, when I 
am a man, I will turn every thing upside down in Egypt." 
He was about ten years old at the time of this incident. 
The women admired this speech, and afterwards, when he 
(3) 



188 CAMBYSES. 

became king, he remembered the threat, and invaded 
Egypt. 

Another incident concurred also to promote this inva- 
sion. There was among the (Greek) auxiliaries of Amasis, 
a certain Halicarnassian, named Phanes, a man able in 
the council, and valiant in the field. This person, incensed 
on some account against Amasis, fled from Egypt by 
sea, and sought a conference with Cambyses. But as he 
was held in high repute among the auxiliaries, and was 
moreover accurately informed of whatever related to 
Egypt, Amasis endeavoured by all means to pursue and 
take him. He sent therefore a chief and trusty officer of 
his household, in a galley, to follow him. This officer 
actually arrested Phanes in Lycia, and yet failed to lead 
him back to Egypt; for by a well-concerted stratagem 
he effected his escape, having intoxicated his guards : 
he went off to Persia. Cambyses was then preparing 
to march against Egypt ; but was in doubt how he should 
convey his army across the arid desert. Phanes, besides 
revealing to him the affairs of Amasis, gave him advice 
in what way to effect the passage of the deserts ; — he 
recommended that Cambyses should send an embassy to 
the king of the Arabians, intreating him to afford a safe 
passage to his army. 

This is the only way in which Egypt is accessible 
(from the east). For the country from Phoenicia to the 
borders of the city Cadytis — a city of the Syrian Pales- 
tine, not much less, I think, than Sardis, with the mari- 
time towns, as far as Jenysus, belongs to Arabia. Again 
from Jenysus to the lake Serbonis, near which Mount 
Casius approaches the sea, the country belongs to the 
Syrians ; and from the lake Serbonis, in which, as they 
say, Typho was hid, Egypt begins. Now between Je- 
nysus, Mount Casius, and the lake Serbonis — a space not 
of small extent, being a journey of three days, the land 
is utterly destitute of water. 

(5) 



ARABIANS. 189 

A circumstance observed by few who make voyages 
to Egypt I have to mention. From the whole of Greece, 
as well as from Phoenicia, there are brought into Egypt 
twice every year, earthern vessels, filled with wine ; and 
yet — so to speak — not one of these wine jars is afterwards 
to be seen in Egypt. How then — let any one say — are 
they disposed of? this I will explain. Every mayor of a 
town is required to collect all this pottery within his 
jurisdiction, and send it to Memphis : these being filled 
with water, are sent forward to the arid desert of Syria, 
and so come round to their first home. In this way, 
from the time they first conquered Egypt, the Persians 
have opened the road thither, by providing themselves 
with water for travelling into that country through the 
arid desert. But at the time of which we are now speak- 
ing, there was no such provision of water. Cambyses 
therefore, under the direction of the Halicarnassian 
stranger, sent messsengers to the Arabian to ask safe 
passage ; which he obtained— giving and receiving the 
pledge of truth. 

[ISTo men keep their plighted word more religiously than the 
Arabians. They take oath in the following manner. — Those 
who wish to pledge their faith stand together, while a third 
person, with a sharp stone, makes an incision in the palm of the 
hand, near the mid ringer, of both parties, and then, taking a 
shred from the garment of both, asperses with the blood seven 
stones, placed between them; while this is done they invoke 
Bacchus and Urania. This ceremony completed, he who has 
given his faith introduces the other party, the stranger, or his 
fellow-citizen, if it be with a neighbour that he has covenanted, 
to his friends, who also hold themselves bound to respect the 
engagement. The Arabians acknowledge as divinities only 
Bacchus and Urania ; and they shave their locks in the very 
fashion, as they say, in which Bacchus shaved his ; that is, in 
a circle round the temples. Bacchus they call Orotal and 
Urania Alilat.] 
(8) 



190 PSAMMENITUS. 

When the Arabian had given his word to the mes- 
sengers of Cambyses, he adopted the following measures : 
vessels of camels' skins he filled with water, and with 
them loaded all his live stock of camels : these he drove 
into the arid region, there to await the army of Cam- 
byses. This is the most credible of the accounts given ; 
we must however mention one less probable, since it has 
been affirmed. There is in Arabia a river of some size 
named Corys, which empties itself into the Red Sea. 
From this river, it is said, the king of the Arabians led 
water by means of a canal (or hose) of bulls' hides, and 
other skins, sewed together, of length sufficient to reach 
from the river to the arid region. There he dug large 
reservoirs to receive and preserve the water. The dis- 
tance is a journey of twelve days. It is affirmed there 
were three of these canals (or pipes) laid at some distance 
from each other. 

Psammenitus, son of Amasis, encamped, awaiting 
Cambyses, at the Pelusian mouth of the Nile. Amasis 
did not survive to the time of this invasion, but had just 
died, after a reign of four-and-forty years, during all 
which time no signal reverse of fortune had happened to 
him. After death he was embalmed, and deposited in 
the sepulchre he had himself constructed in the temple. 
In the reign of his son Psammenitus, a great phenomenon 
happened in Egypt, for there was rain at the Egyptian 
Thebes, which the people affirm had never been seen in 
that region before, nor ever since, to the present time. 
For in Upper Egypt it never rains. : but then it fell in 
showers. 

The Persians having made their way through the arid 
plains, halted near to the Egyptians, in preparation for 
battle. There it was that the auxiliaries of the Egyptian 
king, being Greeks and Carians, indignant at Phanes for 
leading a foreign army against Egypt, acted as I am to 
describe. Phanes had left his sons in Egypt : these the 

(ID 



CONQUEST OF JEGYPT. 191 

Greeks led forth before the camp, and in sight of their 
father, they placed a vessel between the two armies, and 
then, bringing each of the youths separately to the vessel, 
slew him over it : when all were butchered, they poured 
in wine and water, and the entire army of auxiliaries 
drank of it. After this the fight commenced : a hardly 
contested battle ensued: a vast number of both armies 
fell ; at length the Egyptians turned and fled. 

[A remarkable fact was pointed out to me by the people who 
live on the spot where this battle took place. — The bones of the 
slain being heaped apart — the Persians lying by themselves as 
they fell in their ranks, and the Egyptians separately also ; — the 
skulls of the Persians are so weak, that you may, if you please, 
break them in, by throwing a pebble ; while those of the Egyp- 
tians are so strong, that you scarcely produce a fracture by 
dashing a stone at them. The cause of this they say is, and I 
readily assent to it, that the heads of the Egyptians are shaved 
from infancy, and the skull is thickened by the sun : from the 
same cause, the Egyptians are, of all men, the least subject 
to baldness : hence their skulls become so stout. But on the 
contrary, the Persians have feeble skulls, because they screen 
them from the sun from the first, by thickly folded turbans. 
Such at least was the fact, which I myself witnessed. I ob- 
served also a similar appearance on the field at Papremis, 
where lay those slain by Inarus, the Libyan, under Achaemenes, 
son of Darius.] 

The Egyptians driven from the field, fled in disorder, 
and were shut up in Memphis. Cambyses then sent a 
Mitylenean bark up the river, with a herald— a Persian, 
to invite the Egyptians to treat with him. But they, 
when they saw the vessel entering Memphis, rushed to- 
gether from the ramparts, destroyed the bark, tore the 
men limb from limb, and bore them to the walls. After 
this they sustained a siege for some time, and at length 
yielded. Meanwhile the Libyans in the vicinity, being 
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192 CAMBYSES. 

put in fear by, what had taken place in Egypt, surrendered 
themselves;l%jthout resistance, and agreed to render a 
certain tf*b$fce£and they sank gifts. The people of Cyrene 
andjfeirrca .also; moved by the same fears, did the like, 
^he^nerings of the Libyans Cambyses received amicably, 
while those of the Cyrenaens he contemned, because, as 
I suppose, they were too small ; for they sent only 500 
pounds of silver ; he snatched at the money, and threw 
it among the soldiers. 

On the tenth day after Cambyses had taken the citadel 
of Memphis, and when Psammenitus, king of Egypt, had 
reigned just six months, he compelled the conquered king, 
with other Egyptians, to sit in mock state at the entrance 
of the city : and further to make trial of his fortitude, 
he adopted the following means. — He attired the daughter 
of Psammenitus in the habit of a slave, and sent her 
with a pitcher to fetch water ; she was accompanied by 
other virgins, selected from the most noble families, and 
all clad in the same garb of servitude. When this pro- 
cession came where the king and his nobles were sitting, 
the fathers answered to the cries and lamentations of 
their daughters by their own loud grief, in seeing their 
children thus humiliated. But Psammenitus, after taking 
a glance at the spectacle, only cast his eyes to the 
ground. When these had passed, bearing their water- 
pots, there next came the king's son, with two thousand 
Egyptian youths of the same age, bound with ropes 
round their necks, and with bridles in their mouths. 
These were led forth to expiate the death of those who 
had perished in the ship of Mitylene : for the royal 
judges had given sentence that, for each man then 
killed, ten Egyptians of the highest rank should die. 
When these were led past, and it was known they were 
going to execution, the nobles seated with their king wept 
in grievous affliction ; but he did not vary from his beha- 
viour on the former occasion. After they had passed, it 

(14) 



PSAMMENITUS. 193 

happened that a man advanced in years, who had been 
his familiar companion, but who now had lost his all, and 
was as poor as the veriest beggar, passed by where 
Psammenitus, and his nobles were sitting; and as 
he went he asked alms of the soldiers. On seeing this 
Psammenitus burst forth into weeping, and smiting his 
head, called his friend by name. There were spies at 
hand who observed all that took place, to report it to 
Cambyses. He, wondering at the conduct of the Egyp- 
tian king, sent a messenger with this inquiry — " Psam- 
menitus ! Cambyses your sovereign demands why, when 
you beheld your daughter humiliated, and your son going 
to death, you uttered neither cry nor lamentation ; but 
when a mendicant, who, as he is informed, is not of your 
house passed, you honoured him with your sorrow?" 
To this he replied, " Son of Cyrus ! the misfortunes of 
my family are too heavy to be expressed by lamentations ; 
but the griefs of my friend were worthy of tears, who, 
on the threshold of age, has fallen from the height of 
prosperity into extreme destitution." This reply was 
approved by Cambyses, when reported to him, and it is 
affirmed that Croesus, who attended Cambyses to Egypt, 
wept, as did also the Persians who were present. Even 
Cambyses seemed to be overtaken by some compassion, and 
instantly commanded that the son should be rescued from 
among those who were to perish, and the father brought 
from the suburbs into his presence. Those who were 
sent found the son of Psammenitus no longer surviving, 
for he had first been killed. But Psammenitus they led 
before Cambyses, with whom he afterwards remained 
unmolested ; and if he had not been found to be inter- 
meddling with state affairs he might have received the 
vicegerency of Egypt. For it is the custom of the Per- 
sians to honour the sons even of those kings who have 
revolted from them, and to bestow upon them the govern- 
ment of the conquered country. That this rule obtains 
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194 CAMBYSES. 

in the administration of their empire might be proved by 
many instances, among which these may be mentioned. 
Thannyras the Libyan, son of Inarus, was put in posses- 
sion of his father's kingdom, as was also Pausiris, son of 
AmyrtEeus ; and yet none ever injured the Persians more 
than Inarus and Amyrtaeus. But Psammenitus devising 
mischief, received the reward of his conduct ; for being 
detected in inciting the Egyptians to revolt, he was seized 
and condemned by Cambyses to drink the blood of a bull, 
and presently died. Such was the end of this prince. 

Cambyses intent upon prosecuting his designs, went 
from Memphis to Sais. No sooner had he entered the 
palace of Amasis, than he commanded the body of that 
king to be brought forth ; and when this was done he 
ordered it to be flogged and pricked, and the hair to be 
plucked from it, and every other indignity to be inflicted 
he could devise. As his people toiled at this work — for 
the corpse having been embalmed resisted their endea- 
vours, and was not easily divisible — Cambyses impiously 
commanded it to be burned. I say impiously, for the 
Persians think fire to be a god : to burn the dead is 
therefore (for different reasons) forbidden by the laws of 
both these nations. By those of the Persians, because 
they think it wrong to offer the dead body of a man to a 
god. But on the contrary, the Egyptians consider fire to 
be a real wild animal, which devours whatever it can lay 
hold of, and which, when glutted, expires with what it 
has swallowed. Now it is utterly unlawful to deliver a 
dead body to wild beasts : for this very reason they em- 
balm the dead, that they may not lie and be eaten by 
maggots. The deed of Cambyses was therefore con- 
demned by the laws of both nations. The Egyptians 
indeed affirm that it was not Amasis that suffered 
this fate ; but that of some Egyptian of similar 
figure, which was thus indignantly treated by the Per- 
sians, while they believed themselves to be insulting 

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MACROBIAN ETHIOPIANS. 195 

Amasis. And they say that the king, having been in- 
formed by an oracle what would happen to him when 
dead, in order to avoid his fate, himself deposited the 
body, which the Persians flogged, within his own se- 
pulchre, and at the same time enjoined his son to place his 
body in the very deepest recess of the vault. No such 
substitution of one body for another I believe actually 
took place ; the whole I consider as an extravagant fic- 
tion of the Egyptians. 

After this, Cambyses devised three expeditions; one 
against the Carthagenians, another against the Ammonians, 
and another against the Macrobian Ethiopians, who 
inhabit that part of Libya which lies on the southern 
sea (Abyssinia). In concerting the means of accomplish' 
ing these intentions, he determined to send a naval ex- 
pedition against the Carthagenians, while a division of 
the army should march against the Ammonians. And it 
was arranged to send, in the first place, spies among the 
Ethiopians, who were professedly to gain a sight of the 
Table of the Sun, said to exist in Ethiopia ; or to inform 
themselves of the truth of the common report ; while 
they were to glance at whatever might fall under their 
notice; and to cover their design they were to carry 
gifts to the king. 

This Table of the Sun has been thus described.— In 
the suburbs of the city there is a meadow, filled with the 
flesh of all kinds of quadrupeds, cooked : these provi- 
sions it is the duty of the magistrates of the city to place 
every night; and during the day whoever pleases may 
partake of the feast. The natives pretend that the earth 
produces these provisions every night. This is what is 
called the Table of the Sun. 

When Cambyses had determined to employ spies, 
he forthwith sent to Elephantine for some of the Ich- 
thyophagian race (fish-eaters) who were masters of the 
Ethiopian language. In the mean time, while they were 
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196 CAMBYSES. 

on their way, he gave orders for the sailing of the expe- 
dition against Carthage. But the Phoenicians refused 
to comply with the order, being, as they said, bound by 
solemn treaties ; indeed it would be, as they declared, a 
wickedness for them to make war upon their own sons.* 
These refusing, none others were deemed equal to the 
enterprise. Thus the Carthagenians escaped the danger 
of subjection to the Persians. Cambyses did not think 
fit to attempt compelling- the obedience of the Phoeni- 
cians by force, both because they had surrendered them- 
selves voluntarily to the Persians, and because the whole 
naval power was dependant upon that people. The 
Cyprians also had surrendered themselves to the Persians, 
and were now engaged in the invasion of Egypt. 

When the Ichthyophagians came to Cambyses from 
Elephantine, he despatched them to Ethiopia, having 
instructed them in what they were to say, and charged 
them with the presents, which consisted of a purple 
cloak — a twisted golden collar, with bracelets — an alabaster 
box of ointment, and a cask of palm wine. These 
Ethiopians, to whom Cambyses despatched this embassy, 
are reported to be the highest in stature, and the hand- 
somest of all men. In many of their customs they are 
distinguished from the rest of mankind; among these 
may be named their mode of electing to the sovereignty ; 
for they choose him to be king who excels his fellow- 
citizens in size and proportionate strength. When the 
Ichthyophagians arrived among the Ethiopians, and 
offered to their king the gifts they brought, they thus 
addressed him: — " The king of the Persians — even Cam- 
byses, wishing to form friendship and society with 
you, has sent us, commanding us to confer with you, 
and present to you gifts of such things as he is him- 
self most pleased with." But the Ethiopian having 

* Carthage was a colony from Tyre. 

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KING OP THE ETHIOPIANS. 197 

learned that they came as spies, spoke thus to them ;— 
" Nor has the Persian king sent you with gifts, as if he 
cared much to be my friend, nor do you speak truth ; for 
it is as spies of my power that you come ; nor is he an 
honest man ; for if he were honest, he would not covet 
other lands than his own ; nor would he bring into ser- 
vitude men who have done him no wrong. But now give 
him this bow, and with it these words : ' The king of the 
Ethiopians advises the king of the Persians to lead against 
the Macrobian Ethiopians an army surpassing their's 
in number, when the Persians can bend thus easily bows 
as stout as this. Meanwhile let him thank the gods who 
have not inspired the sons of Ethiopia with the desire to 
add another land to their own.' " Thus speaking he 
unloosed the bow, and delivered it to the comers. 

[Then taking up the purple robe, he asked what it might be, 
and how fabricated ; and when the Ichthyophagians truly de- 
scribed the purple, and the mode of dying, he said, " the men are 
deceptive, and deceptive are their garments." Next he put ques- 
tions relative to the twisted collar of gold, and the bracelets ; 
and when the messengers exhibited the beauty of them, the king 
laughing, and mistaking their use, said, " we use stronger 
fetters than these." Then he made inquiries about the oint- 
ment; and when informed of its composition and application, 
he said the same of it as of the cloak. When he came to the 
wine, and had inquired the mode of preparing it, he took a 
draught, which vastly delighted him : he then asked what food 
the king made use of, and also what was the longest term of 
life among the Persians : they replied, bread was his food, and 
they explained the culture of wheat ; adding, eighty years is the 
extreme period of a long life. Upon this, the Ethiopian said he 
wondered not that they lived so few years, since they subsisted 
on rottenness {kott^oq) nor could they attain even that number 
of years, if it were not for the aid of the drink — meaning the 
wine. In this article alone, he allowed themselves to be infe- 
rior to the Persians. 
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198 CAMBYSES. 

The Ichthyophagians inquiring in return of the king what was 
the term and nianner of life of the Ethiopians, he said that most 
of them reached the age of one hundred and twenty years, and 
that some surpassed that term. Their food was boiled flesh, and 
their drink milk. When the spies expressed wonder at the age 
attained by the Ethiopians, the king led them to a fountain, by 
washing in which the body was made sleek as if it were oil ; 
and it had a fragrance like that of violets. The water of this 
spring, as the spies affirmed, was so weak (subtile) that nothing 
could float on its surface — neither wood, nor bodies lighter than 
wood — but all went to the bottom. And moreover, if what is 
said of this spring be true, it is by the abundant use of it that 
these people are so long-lived. Leaving this fountain, the 
spies were conducted to the common prison, where all the pri- 
soners were secured with fetters of gold ; for among these Ethio- 
pians, brass is of all metals the rarest and the most precious : 
after seeing the prison, they inspected the Table of the Sun, 
above-mentioned. 

Finally, the spies examined the coffins of the dead, which 
are said to be prepared from crystal, by the following process. — 
When the corpse is dried — whether in the manner practised by 
the Egyptians, or by some other mode, they cover the whole 
with gypsum ; then they paint it ornamentally, as near to the 
life as they are able. After this, they surround it with a hollow 
column of crystal, which is dug in abundance in their country, 
and is of a kind easily wrought. The body thus placed in the 
midst of the column, is perfectly visible ; nor does it emit an 
unpleasant smell, or become in any way offensive : the crystal 
being throughout transparent, the body is seen on every side 
alike. The nearest relatives of the deceased keep the column in 
their houses during one year — offering to it the first-fruits of all, 
and performing sacrifices. After that time, it is carried forth, 
and stationed somewhere in the vicinity of the city.] 

The spies having inspected every thing, returned, and 
gave an account of their mission to Cambyses, who fired 
with rage, instantly resolved to attack the Ethiopians, 

m 



SUFFERINGS OF THE ARMY. 199 

though he had made no provision for the sustenance of 
the army, nor reflected that he was about to carry his 
arms to the extremity of the earth. In truth he set 
forward after hearing the narration of the Ichthyopha- 
gians, more like a madman than one in the possession of 
reason ; and he commanded all the Greeks who were with 
him to remain behind, while he led on the whole of the 
land forces. When the army reached Thebes, he sepa- 
rated from it about 50,000 men, commanding them to 
reduce the Ammonians to slavery, and to burn the ora- 
cular temple of Jupiter ; while he, with the main body, 
proceeded against the Ethiopians. But before the army 
had accomplished a fifth part of its destined journey, the 
whole of the provisions which they carried with them was 
exhausted. When their bread was spent, they devoured 
all the beasts of burden that could be eaten. If when he 
learned the state of things, Cambyses had altered his pur- 
pose, and led back the army, he might, even after his first 
fault, have been accounted a wise man ; but instead of 
this, without reflection, he still continued advancing. 
The men so long as they could collect the produce of the 
earth, either roots or herbs, sustained life ; but when they 
reached the sands, many of them had recourse to a dire 
expedient: for taking by lot one man in ten, they de- 
voured him. Cambyses learning this, and horrified at this 
devouring of one another among his people, abandoned 
his expedition against the Ethiopians — turned back, and 
reached Thebes, after losing a great part of his army. 
From Thebes he descended to Memphis, where he dis- 
missed the Greeks. So terminated this expedition against 
the Ethiopians. 

Those who were sent to attack the Ammonians pro- 
ceeded from Thebes, under the conduct of guides, and 
arrived, it is known, at a city named Oasis, inhabited by 
Samians, said to be of the iEschrionian tribe, and which 
is distant seven days' journey from Thebes across the 
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200 CAMBYS'ES: 

sands. This region, in the Greek language, is called — 
The island of the happy. So far this division of the 
army is known to have arrived ; but what became of it 
afterwards no man knows ; unless we admit what is re- 
ported by the Ammonians, or by those who repeat what 
they have heard from them. For the army neither 
reached the Ammonians, nor returned home. The ac- 
count given by the Ammonians is this — When they had 
advanced over the sands, about half-way between Oasis 
and the place of their destination, it happened that while 
they were taking dinner, there blew a great and rushing 
wind from the south, bringing with it heaps of sand, 
under which they were buried, and utterly disappeared. 
Such is the story told by the Ammonians. 

At the time when Cambyses arrived at Memphis, Apis, 
whom the Greeks call Epaphus, appeared among the 
Egyptians. When this manifestation took place, in- 
stantly the Egyptians put on their best attire, and gave 
themselves to jollity. Cambyses observing their re- 
joicings, undoubtingly concluded that it was on ac- 
count of his late misfortunes ; and therefore sum- 
moned the magistrates of Memphis. When they 
appeared before him, he said — " When I first was at 
Memphis, the Egyptians acted in no such way ; why then 
do they rejoice, when I come after losing great part of 
the army ?" To this they replied, that their god, who was 
wont to manifest himself only at distant intervals, had 
appeared to them, and that when he appeared then all 
the Egyptians were accustomed to rejoice with feasting. 
Cambyses hearing this, said they lied, and as liars he put 
them to death. These persons having suffered, he next 
called the priests into his presence, who affirmed the same 
as the last ; upon which he said he would not be ignorant if 
indeed a god, so tractable, was wont to come to the Egyp- 
tians; and forthwith he commanded the priests to lead 
Apis into his presence : they went therefore to bring him. 

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apis.. 201 

This Apis, or as we call him Epaphus, is a steer, born 
of a cow that will produce no other offspring ; and the 
Egyptians say that a flash from heaven descends upon 
the cow. The calf, called Apis, is known by the follow- 
ing signs. It is black ; — has a square (or triangular) spot 
of white on the forehead ; — on the back, the resemblance 
of an eagle — in the tail double hairsj and on (or under) 
the tongue, a beetle. When the priests introduced Apis, 
Cambyses, as if in a fit of frenzy, drew his dagger, intending 
to strike the belly of Apis ; but instead struck the thigh, 
and then laughing said to the priests — " O you block- 
heads ! do the gods become such — consisting of blood and 
flesh, and that may feel iron ? Yet such a god is worthy 
of the Egyptians ! But now you shall have no reason to 
rejoice at having mocked me." So saying he commanded 
those whose business it was, to scourge the priests, and 
gave orders that all the Egyptians who might be found 
feasting, should be put to death. Thus ended this fes- 
tival, and the priests were punished. As for Apis who 
was wounded in the thigh, he wasted as he lay in the 
temple, and at length dying of his hurt, the priests buried 
him, without the knowledge of Cambyses. 

From that moment, as the Egyptians affirm, and in con- 
sequence of this atrocity, Cambyses became mad, though 
indeed he was not. of sound mind before. The first of 
his crimes was that which he perpetrated on Smerdis his 
brother, by both father and mother, whom he dismissed 
to Persia from Egypt, through envy, because he alone, 
of all the Persians, had drawn within two fingers' breadth 
of the full, the Ethiopian bow, brought by the Ichthyo- 
phagians : — not a man of the Persians could do this ex- 
cept Smerdis. When his brother had returned to Persia, 
Cambyses saw a vision in his sleep : he thought he beheld 
a messenger coming from Persia, and announcing that 
Smerdis was seated on the royal throne, and that he 
touched the heavens with his head. Upon this, fearing 
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202 CAMBYSES. 

for himself, lest his brother should kill him and reign, he 
despatched Prexaspes to Persia — a man beyond any other 
trustworthy, to destroy him. He, proceeding to Susa, 
killed Smerdis — as some say, while hunting ; others 
affirm that he led the prince to the Red Sea, and there 
drowned him. 

This it is said was the first of the outrageous crimes of 
Cambyses : the second was perpetrated towards his own 
sister, who followed him to Egypt, and whom he married, 
contrary to the ancient customs of the Persians. Before 
doing so he convoked the royal judges, and asked them — 
If there was any law permitting one who wished to 
marry his own sister, to do so 1 These royal judges are 
approved persons among the Persians, who, during the 
term of their lives, or at least till they are detected in 
some act of injustice, judge causes among the people, 
and expound the ancient constitutions, and are the final 
arbiters of all questions. To the inquiry of Cambyses 
these judges gave an answer that was at once just (or 
conformable to law) and yet safe (for themselves). They 
said — They found indeed no law commanding a brother 
to marry a sister. But they found a law which permitted 
a king of Persia to do whatever he pleased. Thus, while 
they did not violate law, from dread of Cambyses, they 
avoided bringing destruction upon themselves in enforcing 
the law, by adducing another which gave him support 
in marrying his sister. Cambyses did so therefore, and 
not long afterwards he married another sister also ; and 
the younger of them, who accompanied him to Egypt, 
he put to death. Two accounts relative to her death, as 
well as concerning that of Smerdis, are abroad. The 
Greeks affirm that Cambyses on one occasion, when his wife 
was present, set a lion's whelp to fight with a young dog : 
the dog being vanquished, a puppy of the same litter, 
bursting its chain, came forward to its brother's assistance. 
The two dogs now united, mastered the cub. This greatly 

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MADNESS OF THE KING. 203 

delighted Cambyses. But his wife by his side shed tears. 
Cambyses noticing this, asked why she wept, She said, 
in seeing the dog avenge his brother she wept, remem- 
bering Smerdis, who, she knew, had found no avenger. 
According to the Greeks she perished by order of Cam- 
byses for this speech. But the Egyptians, say that, as 
they sat at table, his wife took a lettuce, and stripped it 
of its leaves, and then asked her husband which was the 
prettiest—^-a lettuce stripped to the core, or one thick 
with its foliage. When he said, one with its leaves, she 
replied — " But you have cut round the house of Cyrus, 
as this lettuce is pared." Enraged by this answer, he 
gave her a kick ; and she being then with child, died of 
the blow. 

Thus madly did Cambyses behave towards his own 
family : we say not whether this happened to him on ac- 
count of Apis, or from other more common causes — such as 
are wont to bring misfortunes upon men. It is indeed said 
that Cambyses from his birth laboured under a powerful 
malady, called by some the sacred disease {epilepsy). No 
wonder then that, as his body was so much distempered, 
his mind should not be sound. 

Towards the Persians in general, his behaviour was also 
that of a madman. To Prexaspes — a man whom he 
highly honoured — who performed the office of presenting 
despatches, and whose son was king's cup-bearer — a place 
of no little dignity — he is reported to have addressed the 
following questions : — " Prexaspes," said he, " what sort 
of man do the Persians think me ? and in what terms do 
they speak of me ?" To this he replied, — " My Lord, in 
all other respects they extol you greatly ; but they say you 
are too much addicted to wine." Cambyses enraged 
at hearing this, replied — " The Persians affirm that, 
by giving myself to wine, I am beside myself — that I 
have lost all discretion? Then, if it be so, what they 
before said of me was not true." For on a former oc- 
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204 CAMBYSES. 

casion, when at table with the Persian nobles, Croesus 
being present, Cambyses had asked — " What am I, 
when compared with Cyrus, my father ?" To which they 
answered, that he was superior to his father ; since he not 
only held his father's possessions, but had acquired also 
Egypt, and the dominion of the sea. So spoke the Per- 
sians ; but Croesus not pleased with this decision, thus 
addressed Cambyses — " To me now, O son of Cyrus, you 
seem not comparable to your father ; for it is not yet 
your happiness, as it was his, to leave a son like your- 
self." Cambyses was delighted with this reply, and 
praised the judgment of Croesus. 

It was in the recollection of this, that Cambyses so an- 
grily addressed Prexaspes — " Now yourself observe, whe- 
ther the Persians speak truly, or whether, in saying such 
things of me, they are not themselves insane ; for if I strike 
your son to the heart, as he stands there in the vestibule, 
it will appear that the Persians have no ground for what 
they affirm. But if I miss my aim, the Persians will be 
proved to be in the right, and that I am not of sound 
mind." So saying, he bent his bow, and hit the youth, 
who fell dead. Cambyses then ordered the body to be 
opened, and the wound to be examined ; when the shaft 
was found in the heart. "There Prexaspes," said he, 
laughing, and in high glee — " it is proved to you that I 
am not mad ; but that it is the Persians who have lost 
their wits. Now tell me, did you ever know a man hit 
his mark more nicely?" Prexaspes perceiving that he 
had to do with a mad man, and fearing for his own life, 
replied — " My Lord, I really think that a god could not 
have shot better." In a like temper, on another occasion, 
without any just cause, he seized twelve Persians of high 
rank, and buried them alive up to the head. 

While pursuing this course, Croesus judged it proper 
to admonish him in the following terms — " O king, indulge 
not thus your anger, and the heat of youth ; but rather 

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ESCAPE OF ORCESUS. 205 

possess and command yourself. It is a good thing to 
look to consequences, and wise to be cautious in good 
time. You put men to death — your own subjects, seized 
without just cause ; — you slaughter children. If you con- 
tinue this course, take care the Persians do not revolt 
from you. Your father Cyrus strictly enjoined me to 
admonish you, and to suggest any thing that might seem to 
me for your good." Thus he gave proof of his friendship : 
but Cambyses answered, " And do you dare to give me 
counsel ! You ! who so prosperously administered your own 
kingdom ! You ! who so sagely advised my father to pass 
the Araxes, and to advance upon the Massagetes, when 
they were willing to come over to our side 1 You have 
then ruined yourself by the mismanagement of your 
state, and you destroyed Cyrus who yielded to your 
persuasions. But you shall have no reason to bless 
yourself ; for of a long time I have sought to catch an 
occasion against you." So saying, he seized his bow, 
as if to shoot at him ; but Croesus withdrew, and ran 
away ; Cambyses failing in his purpose, commanded his 
attendants to take and kill him. But they, knowing well 
his temper, hid Croesus ; supposing that the king would 
alter his mind, and seek for him ; in which case they, on 
producing him, should receive gifts as the price of his 
redemption. But if he should not relent, or wish for him 
again, then they would put him to death. But after a 
very short time, Cambyses again wished for Croesus, and 
the attendants perceiving it, announced that he was still 
living : upon which he said, he was indeed rejoiced that 
Croesus survived ; but as for those who had saved him, 
they should not go unpunished, but die for it : and he 
fulfilled the threat. 

Such was the furious behaviour of Cambyses, both 
towards his subjects and his allies. While at Mem- 
phis, he opened the ancient repositories of the dead, 
and examined the bodies; and entering the temple of 
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k 20() CAMBYSES. 

Vulcan, he made sport of the image of the deity. For 
there is there an image of Vulcan, nearly resembling 
the images called Pataeci, which the Phoenicians place 
at the prows of their galleys. For the benefit of those 
who have not seen them, I may mention that these figures 
represent pygmies. Cambyses entered also the temple 
of the Cabeiri, into which it is unlawful for any but the 
priest to go : — the images of this temple he burned, after 
deriding them in various ways : — they are similar to those 
of Vulcan ; of whom the Cabeiri are said to be the sons. 

From all these instances, it is evident to me that 
Cambyses was utterly deranged ; for otherwise, he cer- 
tainly would not have attempted to make sport of things 
sacred, and of established usages. For if it were pro- 
posed to men to select from all existing institutions, the 
very best ; each people, after looking round, would prefer 
their own : so certain is it that every nation thinks its own 
customs by far preferable to any that can be found. One 
cannot therefore believe that any but a madman would 
deride a people's institutions. That all men do actually 
thus prefer their own usages, is a truth that may be 
established by many and various proofs, and among such 
proofs, the following may be mentioned. — Darius, on one 
occasion, addressing some Greeks under his sway who 
were present, asked, " For what sum of money would 
you feed upon the dead bodies of your parents V " For 
no sum whatever," said they, "would we perpetrate such 
a deed." Darius then called for some Indians, of the 
tribe called Callatia, who devour their parents, and said, 
in the presence of the Greeks, to whom what passed was 
made known by an interpreter; — "On receiving what 
sum of money would you consent to burn your fathers 
when they die ?" They, uttering a loud shriek, conjured 
him to talk of things less offensive. Now all this is the 
effect only of established usage. Well sung Pindar, I 
think when he said, * Custom is the king of all men.' 

(38) 



POLYCRA.TES. 207 

SECTION II. 

THE STORY OF POLYCRATES, AND OF PERIANDER. 

[At the time that Cambyses invaded Egypt, the Lacedaemoni- 
ans undertook an expedition against Samos, and Polycrates, son 
of Ajax, who had violently possessed himself of the island. At 
first Polycrates had divided the state into three parts, which he 
shared with his two brothers, Pantagnotus and Syloson; but 
presently killing one, and banishing Syloson, the younger, he 
held the whole island. Having confirmed himself in his autho- 
rity, he formed an alliance with Amasis, king of Egypt — send- 
ing gifts, and receiving others in return. Within a very short 
time, the affairs of Polycrates prospered so much, that his fame 
was noised throughout Ionia and all Greece. Which way 
soever he turned his arms, he met good fortune. He had one 
hundred fifty- oared galleys, and a thousand archers : he drove 
all before him, and plundered friends and foes, without distinc- 
tion; professing that he gratified a friend more by restoring 
what he had seized, than by taking nothing. He took many of 
the islands, and not a few cities on the continent : and the Les- 
bians, who came with all their forces to succour the Milesians, 
he vanquished in a naval engagement, and took them prisoners : 
these captives dug the entire trench, which encompasses the wall 
of Samos, (the city.) 

The extraordinary good fortune of Polycrates was not hid 
from Amasis; on the contrary, it excited his solicitude: and 
when at length, still greater successes followed his fortunes, the 
Egyptian king wrote a letter in the following terms, which he 
sent to Samos : — ■ 

" Thus says Amasis to Polycrates :— it is pleasant to be in- 
formed of the successful exploits of a friend and ally; but your 
too great good fortune pleases me not — knowing as I do, that 
the divinity is envious. For myself, and for those in whose 
welfare I am most interested, I would rather have something 
(40) 



208 POLYCRATES. 

of prosperity in our undertakings, with some misliaps : so that 
we might hold out the longer — experiencing vicissitudes, rather 
than being in all things prosperous. Tor I have neither known, 
nor heard of any man, universally successful, who was not at 
last miserably overthrown. Now therefore, if you will be 
advised by me, you will contravene your good fortune in some 
such way as this : — Consider what, among all your treasures, 
you can find that is most valued by you, and the loss of which 
would most afflict your very soul : — this so cast away, that it 
may henceforth never more be seen. And if in future your 
successes are not mingled with an interchange of misfortunes, 
again apply a remedy such as I have proposed." 

On reading this letter, Polycrates gave serious attention to 
what he thought the good advice of Amasis, and inquired of him- 
self what it was among his treasures the loss of which would 
most afflict his spirit. — He found on reflection, that the article 
most dear to him was a signet he wore set in gold ; the 
stone was an emerald, wrought by Theodoras, son of Tele- 
cles a Samian. When he had resolved to cast it away, he 
went on board a fifty-oared galley, full manned, and ordered 
the men to make for the high seas : having distanced the island, 
he, in the sight of all on board, drew off the signet, and threw 
it into the main. So done, he turned his sail, and reaching his 
palace, lent himself to his calamity. 

On the fifth or sixth day after this, the following circumstance 
occurred : — A fisherman having caught a fish of extraordinary 
size and goodness, thought proper to offer it as a gift to Poly- 
crates :— bringing it to the gates, he said he wished to be intro- 
duced to Polycrates : when he approached, presenting the 
fish, he said, " O king, having caught this, I judged that it 
should not be carried into the market ; although indeed I live 
by my labour: but I deemed it worthy of you, and of your 
state. I bring it therefore and give it you." He, pleased 
with the address, thus replied : — " You have well done, and I 
give you double thanks ; first for your speech ; next for the 
gift, and I invite you to supper." The fisherman thinking much 
of the invitation, went to his home. When the servants came 
to cut up the fish, they found in its belly the signet of Poly- 

(42) 



POLYCRATES. 209 

crates. Seeing it, they took it instantly, with great joy to the 
king, and in giving it to him, said where it had been found. 
He thinking the affair to be a divine intimation, wrote an ac- 
count of what he had done, and of what had happened, and 
despatched it to Egypt. 

Amasis, on reading this epistle from Polycrates, learned from 
it that it is impossible for man to rescue man from the fate that 
awaits him ; and inferring that Polycrates was not to finish his 
course well, since he was (at present) fortunate in all things, and 
had even found what he had cast away, sent a herald to Samos 
to dissolve the bonds of amity. This he did, lest a great and 
grievous calamity befalling Polycrates, he should himself suffer 
affliction in sympathy with one whom he reckoned among his 
friends. 

It was against this universally prosperous Polycrates, that the 
Lacedaemonians made war. They had been invited to do so 
by those Samians, who afterwards founded Cydonia in Crete. 
For when Cambyses was collecting his forces for the invasion of 
Egypt, Polycrates had sent to him, requesting the Persian to 
make a demand upon Samos for a contingent of men. Cam- 
byses no sooner received this request, than he readily despatched 
a messenger, asking Polycrates to send a naval force to attend 
him in his invasion of Egypt. He then selected from among 
the citizens those whom he most suspected of seditious inten- 
tions. These he sent out in forty galleys, enjoining Cambyses 
not to send them home again. There are those who affirm, 
that these Samians, sent out by Polycrates, never reached 
Egypt; but that when they came off Carpathus, they conferred 
together, and resolved to sail no further. While some say 
that, arriving in Egypt, and finding themselves watched, they 
made their escape, and returning to Samos, Polycrates met 
and engaged them at sea ; — that they were victorious, and 
landed on the island, where, in their turn, they were vanquished ; 
and, in consequence, sailed away for Lacedaemon. Again 
there are others who affirm, that these Samians, on their return 
from Egypt, conquered Polycrates ; but in so saying, I think 
they err ; for had they been able by themselves to withstand 
Polycrates, tliero would have been no need for them to call in 
(45) p 



210 POLYCRATES. 

the aid of the Lacedaemonians. Besides, it is not credible 
that a prince having in his pay a large body of mercenaries, 
and of native archers, should be vanquished by a small number 
of returning Samians. Moreover, Polycrates had in his power, 
and shut up in the arsenals, the children and wives of the citi- 
zens, whom he would have burned, together with the arsenals, 
if the Samians at home had surrendered themselves to those 
who returned. 

When the Samians, expelled by Polycrates, arrived at 
Sparta, and presented themselves before the magistrates, they 
urged their petition in many words. But these, at the first 
audience, replied, that the first portion of their address they 
had forgotten, and the last they had not understood. After- 
wards, when the Samians the second time presented them- 
selves, they said nothing more than these words, as they pre- 
sented a sack — " The sack wants meal." To which the Spar- 
tans replied that, by the sack, they had superseded further 
discourse, and they decreed to grant the aid. The Lacedaemo- 
nians forthwith made preparations, and sent out a force against 
Samos : and this, as the Samians affirm, by way of discharging 
a debt of gratitude incurred when the Samians aided the Lace- 
daemonians with ships in the Messenian war. But the Lace- 
daemonians say that they undertook this expedition, not so 
much to avenge these Samians at their request, as because they 
wished to punish the (other) Samians for seizing the vase, sent 
by them to Croesus, and the thoracle, which Amasis had sent 
as a present to themselves : for the Samians had robbed them 
of the thoracle the year before they took the vase. This tho- 
racle (or corselet) was of linen, and in-wrought with many 
figures of animals, and adorned with gold, and flocks of cotton. 
But what is the most admirable, is that each thread of the 
thoracle, though very slender, consists of three hundred and sixty 
threads, all perceptible. A similar corselet was dedicated by 
Amasis to the Lindian Minerva. 
B.C. The Corinthians with much zeal gave their aid to the Lace- 

daemonians in this expedition against Samos ; for they had received 
an affront from the Samians in the preceding age, about the 
time when the cup was stolen. — Periander, sou of Cypselus, 

(48) 



568. 



PRRIANDER. 211 

had sent to Sardis, for Alyattes, three hundred youths, sons of 
Corcyraean nobles, as slaves. When the Corinthians who 
conducted them approached Samos, the Samians learning for 
what purpose these children were to be carried to Sardis, first 
instructed them to touch the temple of Diana ; and then prohibited 
any one to withdraw the suppliants from the sanctuaiy. The 
Corinthians then prevented their receiving sustenance. To afford 
them a supply the Samians celebrated a festival — in the same 
way as at present — and when night arrived, and while the youths 
were in sanctuary, they appointed chorusses of virgins and young 
men, who, according to custom, carried cakes made of sesame and 
honey : this was done, that the Corcyraean children might seize 
the provisions for their support. This they continued to do, until 
at length the Corinthian guards departed, leaving their charge. 
The Samians then conveyed the children back to Corcyra. 

If, after the death of Periander, friendship had been cul- 
tivated between the Corinthians and Corcyraeans, the former 
would not, on account of the affront just mentioned, have 
joined in the invasion of Samos. But in fact, always, from 
the first colonization of the island, there have existed disagree- 
ments between the two people ; and therefore the Corinthians 
harboured this old grudge against the Samians. For Periander 
had taken and sent these noble Corcyraean youths as slaves to 
Sardis, only to revenge an atrocious deed, committed by the 
people of Corcyra.— After Periander had killed his own wife, 
Melissa, to this first calamity succeeded another. He had 
two sons by Melissa, the one aged seventeen, the other eighteen 
years. — Their maternal grandfather, Procles, tyrant of Epi- 
daurus, sent for these youths, and, as was natural, they being 
his daughter's sons, very fondly entertained them. When he sent 
them back, he said, as he led them forth — " Know you now my 
sons who it was that killed your mother ?" To this speech, the 
elder of them gave no heed ; but the younger, named Lyco- 
phron, in hearing it, so grieved, that when he arrived at Corinth, 
regarding his father as the murderer of his mother, he neither 
saluted him, nor answered when spoken to; and when ques- 
tioned, would not utter a word. At length Periander in a rage 
drove him from the palace. 
(50) p 2 



212 PERIANDER AND 

Lycophron being thus dismissed, the father inquired of his 
elder son what their grandfather had said to them ; and he in 
reply described how kindly they had been received ; but the 
parting word of Procles, to which indeed he had given no 
attention, he did not repeat. But Periander declared that it 
could not be but that he had suggested something to them, and 
continued to urge his inquiries, till, at length, the youth recol- 
lected, and repeated the speech. Periander reflecting upon 
this, and resolving no longer to cherish tenderness, sent a mes- 
senger to those who had received his expelled son, forbidding 
them to entertain him in their houses. In consequence of this, 
the youth, driven from one house, sought refuge in another, 
and was expelled from that also : for Periander had 
threatened all who received him, and commanded that he 
should be forced away. Thus driven about, he wandered 
from house to house among his friends, who though with appre- 
hension, yet could not refuse admittance to the son of Peri- 
ander. In the end, Periander made proclamation by a 
herald, that whoever received his son into their houses, or even 
held discourse with him, should pay a certain fine — which he 
named — to the temple of Apollo. After this, no one would 
either entertain or speak to him : while the youth, not think- 
ing it right to tempt a violation of his father's ordinance, and 
yet adhering to his resolution, loitered about the porticos. 
But on the fourth day, Periander seeing hiin unwashed, and 
languishing for want of food, felt compassion — remitted his anger 
— approached him, and thus spoke. — " Tell me my son, which is 
preferable — what you now endure, or to receive royalty with 
the goods which I possess, in adapting yourself to your father's 
wishes ? You ! the son of him who is master of the wealth 
of Corinth, have chosen the life of a vagabond, in spitefully 
opposing the person, whom least of all you ought so to treat. 
If a calamity has befallen our family, on account of which 
you suspect me, remember that to me it has happened also, 
and upon me falls the heaviest part of it, inasmuch as I it was 
who did it {slew his mother.) As for yourself, having learned 
(the truth of the saying) that it is better to be envied than 
pitied, and feeling what it is to enrage a parent and a superior, 

(52) 



LYCOPHRON. 213 

return to your home." By these persuasions, Periander sought 
to gain his son; but he made no other answer than to tell 
his father that, " in conversing with him, he had made himself 
liable to pay the fine to the god." Periander now perceiving 
that the ill disposition of his son was incurable, and invincible, 
resolved to dismiss him from his sight; and for this purpose 
equipped a vessel to proceed with him to Corcyra ; — for he held 
that island under his sway. Having despatchedhis son,Periander 
made war upon his father-in-law, Procles, as being the chief 
author of what had happened. And he captured Epidaurus — 
took Procles, and held him a captive. 

Time passed on ; Periander grew old, and being conscious 
that he was no longer able to superintend his affairs, or give 
command, sent to Corcyra to recal Lycophron, that he might 
assume the government ; for he could not look to his elder son, 
whose disposition appeared altogether inert. But Lycophron, 
deigned not to give so much as an answer to the messenger. 
Periander, who really loved the youth, next sent to him his 
daughter, and the sister of Lycophron, thinking that she would 
be most likely to persuade him. When she arrived, she thus 
addressed him — " Would you, young man, that the government 
should pass to others ; and had you rather that your father's 
house should be torn asunder, than yourself come and possess 
it? Come then home, and put an end to your self-inflicted 
punishment. This resolution is an unpromising fortune for 
you. Attempt not to heal one evil by another. Many prefer 
amiable concessions to just demands ; and there are those who, 
while zealous for the honour of a mother, cast from them the 
possessions of a father. A throne is a precarious property — it 
has many lovers. He is already an old man, and passed his 
strength. Give not therefore your own to others." Thus, 
as instructed by her father, she said what seemed likely to per- 
suade him. But he answered that he would never return to 
Corinth while he knew that his father survived. When she 
took back this reply to her father, he, a third time, sent a 
herald, to say that he himself intended to come to Corcyra, 
and he commanded Lycophron to return to Corinth, and assume 
the government. The son consenting to this, Periander pre- 
(53) p 3 



214 SIEGE OF SAMOS. 

pared for his journey to Corcyra ; while Lycophron set forward 
on his return to Corinth. But the people of Corcyra, being- 
informed of what was taking place — to prevent Periander 
from coming among them, slew the young man. This was the 
motive of the vengeance which Periander wrecked upon the 
Corcyraeans. 

The Lacedaemonians arriving with a great armament, be- 
sieged the city of Samos. They approached the fortifications, 
and had already passed a tower of the suburbs that faced the 
sea, when they were driven back by Polycrates himself, who 
advanced with a numerous body of men. At the same time 
the auxiliaries, with many of the Samians, descended from a 
fort, situated on the ridge of the mountain. These the Lace- 
daemonians sustained for a short time, and then fled : the enemy 
pursued, and many were slain. If on this day all the Lace- 
daemonians present in the action had behaved like Archius and 
Lycopas, Samos might have been taken. — Archias and Lycopas 
alone following the retreating Samians, entered the walls, and 
their retreat being cut off, they were slain in Samos. The grand- 
son of this Archias — himself of that name, and the son of Samius, 
I met with at Pitane, of which place he was a native. He 
held the Samians in higher esteem than any other strangers, and 
said that the cognomen — Samius, had been given to his father 
in commemoration of the valiant death of his grandfather in 
Samos : and he so highly honoured the people of that city, 
because they had buried his grandfather at the public 
cost. 

The Lacedaemonians having besieged Samos forty days, 
without making any progress toward the accomplishment of 
their object, returned to Peloponnesus. A report destitute of 
foundation has gone abroad, that Polycrates coined a large 
quantity of Samian money of lead, gilded, which he gave them, 
and which they accepting, took their departure. This is the 
first expedition into Asia, undertaken by the Lacedaemonian 
Dorians. 

Those Samians, who had excited this war against Poly- 
crates, seeing that the Lacedaemonians were about to abandon 

(57) 



THE SIPHNIANS. 215 

them, sailed away to Siphnus ; for they were in want of money, 
and the affairs of the Siphnians were then in so prosperous a 
condition, that they were the richest of all the islanders. In 
truth, their island contained mines of gold and silver, which 
were so productive, that the treasure amassed at Delphi ac- 
cruing from a tythe of these mines, may bear comparison with 
that of the most opulent people. They divided among them- 
selves every year the precious metals. When these islanders 
dedicated the treasure (at Delphi) they inquired of the oracle, 
'Whether the wealth they then enjoyed was long to remain 
their's V The Pythian gave them this answer — 

' When Siphnus' halls and market too are white, 
Then will she need a man of keenest sight 
' To watch a wooden band,* and herald, crimson dight.' 

The Prytaneum (senate house) and market house of Siphnus 
were then embellished with Parian marble. This response 
they were not at that time able to comprehend, nor even when 
the Samians arrived off the island. These, as soon as they 
drew towards shore, sent forward one of their ships to the city, 
having on board an embassage. Anciently, all ships were 
painted red. This was the meaning of the Pythian, when she 
enjoined them to guard themselves against a wooden band 
(or ambush) and a red herald. The messengers arriving at 
the city, requested of the Siphnians a loan of twenty talents, 
and when the Siphnians refused to advance the money, the 
Samians ravaged the country. The citizens informed of this, 
instantly went out to protect their property, and engaging the 
Samians they were beaten. In the retreat, many of them were 
cut off from entering the walls, and then the Samians exacted 
a hundred talents. 

From the Hermionians the Samians received, instead of 
money, the island of Hydrea, off the coast of Peloponnesus, 
which they committed in trust to the Trcezenians. They then 
founded the colony of Cydonia in Crete, to which island they 

* \oyoQ, a cohort — an ambuscade. 

(59) p 4 



216 SAMOS. 

sailed only to expel the Zacynthians from it. Yet they re- 
mained there and prospered during five years. It was they 
who reared the temples now seen at Cydonia, and even the 
fane of Dictyna. But in the sixth year, the iEginetans joining 
the Cretans, vanquished them in a sea fight, and reduced them 
to slavery. The prows of the Samian vessels, which bore the 
figure of a goat, were detached and dedicated to Minerva in 
her temple at iEgina. The Samians were thus treated by the 
iEginetans from an old grudge ; for their ancestors, when Am- 
phicrates reigned in Samos, invading iEgina, had committed 
great outrages; — yet not then without retaliations. — This was 
the occasion of their hatred. 

I have dwelt longer on the affairs of the Samians, because 
they have distinguished themselves beyond any other Greeks 
by three works of great magnitude. Of these, the first is a 
tunnel, cut through a mountain, o»e hundred and fifty fathoms 
in height ; it pierces the mountain at its base, and has an exit 
on each side : the length of the excavation is seven furlongs ; — 
the heighth and the width one hundred feet ; throughout the 
extent of it there runs a trench, twenty cubits deep, and three 
feet wide. By means of this trench, water is brought from an 
abundant spring, and is distributed through the city by pipes. 
The engineer who performed the work was Eupalinus, of 
Megara, son of Naustrophus. So much for the first of these 
works : the second is a mole, carried out to sea, and surround- 
ing the harbour: its depth is twenty fathoms, and the length 
more than two furlongs. The third work of the Samians is a 
temple, more spacious than any other we have seen. The first 
architect of this structure was a native of the island, named 
Bhcecus, son of Phileus. These works claim for the people a 
more distinct notice than otherwise I should have bestowed on 
them.] 



(60) 



REVOLT OF THE MAGES. 217 



SECTION III. 

DEATH OF CAMBYSES, USURPATION OF THE MAGES. 

While Cambyses, son of Cyrus, lingered in Egypt, B.C. 
committing the extravagances of a madman, two bro- 
thers who were Mages conspired against him. One of 
these men Cambyses had left guardian of the palace; 
and it was he who devised the plot ; for when he learned 
the death of Smerdis, and found that the fact was con- 
cealed, and known to very few of the Persians, while the 
multitude believed him to be still living, he concerted his 
measures and possessed himself of the palace. His 
brother, who as I have said, joined him in the plot, 
very much resembled Smerdis, son of Cyrus, whom 
Cambyses, had put to death : he bore also the very same 
name, as well as the same appearance. This man, the 
other Mage — named Patizeithes, who engaged to 
manage the whole affair, placed upon the royal throne. 
This done, he despatched heralds in various directions, 
and to Egypt also, to inform the army that henceforth 
it was to Smerdis, son of Cyrus, not to Cambyses, they 
were to pay obedience. 

All the heralds made this proclamation where they 
went : he who was despatched to Egypt, found Cambyses 
with the army at Egbatana, in Syria. Posting him- 
self in the midst of the camp, he made the announcement 
enjoined him by the Mage. Cambyses hearing this from 
the herald, and supposing that what he said was true, 
and that he had been betrayed by Prexaspes, who, he 
imagined, though sent to put Smerdis to death, had 
(62) 



218 DEATH OP 

failed to do so — looked at that officer, and exclaimed — 
" Prexaspes, is it thus you have performed for me the 
part I assigned you ?" — " My lord," said he, " what 
you have just heard is not true : it is not true that your 
brother Smerdis has revolted against you, or that any 
opposition, more or less, can be made to you by that 
person, for I myself executed your commands, and I 
buried him with these very hands. But if now the 
dead may rise again, then expect Astyages the Mede 
to rise up against you. But if things hold their wonted 
course, then no changes shall spring up to you from 
him {your hrotlier). I think therefore that we should 
pursue the herald, and inquire of him from whom 
he comes to proclaim, that we are to obey king 
Smerdis." 

Thus spoke Prexaspes, and Cambyses approved his 
advice. Instantly the herald was pursued, and brought 
back, and was thus addressed by Prexaspes : " You 
say, man, that you come as the messenger of Smerdis, 
son of Cyrus : now if you speak the truth, you shall 
go hence in peace. But did Smerdis himself show him- 
self to you, and face to face give you these commands ; 
or was it one of his ministers from whom you received 
them?" He replied — " Smerdis, son of Cyrus, I have 
never seen since the day when the king Cambyses set 
forward to invade Egypt. But the Mage, whom Cam- 
byses made prefect of the palace — he it was who gave 
me these orders, saying that Smerdis — he who was son 
of Cyrus, directed this message to be conveyed to you." 
In all this the man uttered nothing untrue. Cambyses 
then said, addressing Prexaspes, " You then, like a good 
man, have fulfilled your instructions, and so escape 
blame. But who among the Persians is it that conspires 
against me, and usurps the name of Smerdis?" " I 
think," said he, " that I understand what has taken 
place ; — it is the Mages who have revolted against you ; 

"(63) 



CAMBYSES. 219 

I mean Patizeithes, whom you left steward of the palace, 
and his brother, named Smerdis." 

As soon as Cambyses heard this name, Smerdis, the 
truth, both of the present report, and of the vision, 
smote him; — for he had thought that one announced to 
him that Smerdis, sitting- on the throne of the kingdom, 
touched the heavens with his head. Perceiving now 
that his brother had perished on a vain surmise, he wept 
for him. After giving vent to his sorrow, and bitterly 
deploring all this weight of calamity, he sprang upon his 
horse, resolving instantly to march to Susa against the 
Mage : but in leaping on horseback, the embossed end of 
the scabbard of his scymetar fell off, and the blade being 
so far bared, wounded the thigh : this wound happened 
in the part corresponding to that in which he had struck 
the Egyptian god Apis. When he knew that he had 
received a mortal wound, Cambyses inquired what might 
be the name of the city : — they said, Egbatana. He had 
some time before received a prediction from the oracle at 
Butos, declaring that he was to end his days at Egbatana. 
This prediction he interpreted of Egbatana in Media, 
where were all his treasures, and where he supposed he 
should die, an old man; but the oracle intended the 
Syrian town of that name. When he had thus been 
informed of the name of the place, struck with a sense 
of his unhappiness, both from the revolt of the Mage 
and from his wound, he returned to his right mind, and 
apprehending the sense of the divine prediction, said, 
'" Here Cambyses, son of Cyrus, is fated to die." 

Nor more at that time : — but about twenty days after- 
wards, he summoned all the most distinguished Persians 
who were in attendance, and thus addressed them :— 
" Persians ! lam overtaken by circumstances which lead 
me to declare what, of all things, I had especially con- 
cealed. While in Egypt, I saw in my sleep a vision : 
would that I had not seen it ! I thought a messenger 
(65) 



220 BEATH OF 

arrived from my palace, announcing to me that Smerdis, 
sitting on the royal throne, touched the heavens with his 
head. Fearing lest the kingdom should be taken from 
me by my brother, I adopted measures more hasty than 
wise ; for it belongs not to human nature to avert what 
is to take place. But I, vain man as I was, despatched 
Prexaspes to put Smerdis to death. Having perpetrated 
this crime, I lived at my ease, for little did I think that 
— Smerdis taken out of the way — another man would rise 
up against me. But utterly mistaking what was to 
happen, I became the murderer of my brother — to no 
purpose ; for notwithstanding this act I am deprived of 
the kingdom. It was Smerdis the Mage whom the daemon 
announced to me as about to set himself up in my place. 
But the deed was perpetrated by me. You will there- 
fore reckon that Smerdis, the son of Cyrus, is no more, 
and that it is the Mage — he whom I left steward of the 
palace, and his brother, who have possessed themselves 
against you, of the regal state. And now, he whose part 
especially it would have been to avenge for me the dishonour 
I have suffered from the Mages — he, by an atrocious crime, 
has received death at the hands of his nearest relatives. He 
then being no more, it next remains for me to convey to 
you, Persians, my urgent injunctions as to what I would 
have done, when life to me is ended. I do therefore 
enjoin you, in the name of the gods of the re*alm — you all, 
and eminently you who are present of the Achaemenidian 
house, not to connive at the return of the sovereign power 
again to the Medes. But if by craft they go about to 
obtain it, by craft deprive them of it ; or if by might 
they work it out for themselves, by still greater might 
wrest it from them. If thus you act, may your lands 
yield their increase to you ; your wives and your herds 
be fruitful ; and you remain for ever free ! But if you 
rescue not the sovereign power, nor even attempt to 
rescue it, I imprecate upon you the contrary of all these ; 

(65) 



CAMBYSES. 221 

and still worse — may the fate of every Persian be like 
mine!" Thus saying, Cambyses deplored the issue of 
his course. 

The Persians seeing the king weep, rent their vest- 
ments, and uttered unbounded lamentations. Soon after- 
wards the bone inflamed (or became gangrenous) the thigh 
mortified, and Cambyses, son of Cyrus, died, after reign- 
ing seven years and five months. He left neither son 
nor daughter. The Persians present at his death gave 
no credence to the supposition that the Mages had pos- 
sessed themselves of the government ; but imagined that 
Cambyses had, with an ill intention, given this account 
of the death of Smerdis, in order to raise against him 
the whole Persian nation. They therefore supposed that 
it was indeed the son of Cyrus who had revolted. And 
Prexaspes, on his part, vehemently denied that he had 
killed Smerdis ; for it was not safe, now that Cambyses 
was dead, to confess that, with his own hand, he had 
destroyed the son of Cyrus. 



SECTION IV. 

RULE AND OVERTHROW OF THE MAGES. 

After the death of Cambyses, the Mage reigned fear- 
lessly, and under the usurped name of Smerdis, son of 
Cyrus, occupied the throne during the seven months 
which completed the eighth year of Cambyses. In these 
months he won all to submission by signal favours, so that 
at his death he was deplored by all the people of Asia, 
except the Persians. For he despatched messengers to 
every nation under his sway, proclaiming a remission of 
(67) 



222 CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE 

the levies of men and money during three years. This 
proclamation was made at the instant of his assuming the 
government. 

But in the eighth month of his reign, his pretensions 
were exposed by the following means. — Otanes, son of 
Pharnaspes, possessed, alike by birth and wealth the first 
rank among the Persians. This Otanes was the first 
to suspect that the Mage was not the son of Cyrus. 
The suspicion arose from the circumstance that he never 
issued from the citadel, and never called into his presence 
any of the most distinguished Persians. To satisfy this 
doubt he adopted the following course. — -His daughter, 
named Phaedima, had been a wife of Cambyses, and was 
now a wife of the Mage, who had taken also all the other 
wives of the late king. He sent a message therefore to his 
daughter, inquiring of her whether her husband was 
indeed Smerdis, son of Cyrus, or some other person. 
But in reply she declared that she did not know ; for she 
had never before seen Smerdis, son of Cyrus ; nor did 
she know who it was whom she called husband. Otanes 
sent a second time a message to this effect: " If you 
do not know Smerdis, ask of Atossa, whether it is the 
same who was her brother, and who is your husband ; for 
undoubtedly she must know her own brother." To this his 
daughter replied : "I can neither converse with Atossa, 
nor see any other of the women who occupy the palace. 
For the instant that this man, whoever he may be, 
assumed the royal dignity, he separated us, assigning 
different apartments to each." 

Otanes hearing this, still more clearly perceived the 
truth. He therefore communicated a third message to 
his daughter, in these terms : — " My daughter ! it befits 
your noble birth to undergo perils at the command of your 
father. Now if Smerdis be not the son of Cyrus, but 
he whom I suppose, and who has made you his wife, and 
who holds the Persian power, he ought not to go on 

(69) 



MAGES. 223 

with impunity; but should pay the forfeit due to his 
crimes. Now therefore follow my directions. — When 
you know him to be in the deepest sleep, feel his ears, 
and if you find that he has ears, then conclude that the 
son of Cyrus is your husband. But if he has not, then 
know that it is with Smerdis the Mage you have lived." 
To this command Phsedima returned an answer as 
follows — That she should incur the greatest peril in 
doing so ; for if he had not ears, and she should be de- 
tected in feeling for them, she well knew that she must 
perish : yet she would attempt it. She promised there- 
fore to fulfil her father's commands. It must be said 
that Cyrus had, during his reign, cut off the ears of 
Smerdis, the Mage, for some capital offence. Phsedima, 
daughter of Otanes, prepared to execute the commands 
of her father, when next it should be her turn to see the 
Mage. At length, while he was sunk into a profound 
sleep, she felt for his ears, and without any difficulty 
discovered that the man had none. Instantly, when day 
appeared, she sent and made known the discovery to her 
father. 

Otanes then took with him Aspathines, and Gobryas, 
two Persians of high rank, and on whom he could the 
best rely ; and related to them all that had taken place. 
They had themselves entertained suspicions of the fact, 
and therefore admitted the account of Otanes. They 
agreed each to select a Persian as his confidant, in whom 
he could place the greatest reliance. Otanes therefore 
introduced to the confederacy Intaphernes ; Gobryas 
brought Megabysus ; and Aspathines, Hydarnes. When 
these six were associated, there arrived at Susa Darius, 
son of Hystaspes, from Persia, of which his father was 
governor ; and him the six Persians thought proper to 
associate with themselves. These seven being assembled, 
exchanged their word of honour with each other, and 
conferred together. When it came to the turn of Darius 
(71) 



224 CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE 

to declare his opinion, he thus spoke : — " 1 had be^ 
lieved that I alone knew that it was the Mage who reigns, 
and that Smerdis, son of Cyrus, is no more ; and it was 
with this very intent I hastened hither, that I might put 
the Mage to death : but now, as you also have become 
acquainted with the fact, and it no longer rests with me, 
I think we ought at once, and without delay, to execute 
our purpose : a more fit moment will not present itself." 
To this Otanes replied, " Son of Hystaspes — son of a 
valiant father, you show yourself not inferior to him ! 
But an enterprize like this you must not bring forwards 
thus unadvisedly : — attempt it with the utmost caution. 
We must augment our numbers before we execute our 
plan." — " You who are here present," replied Darius, 
" if you adopt the course spoken of by Otanes, know 
that you shall miserably perish. For some one, consult- 
ing his private advantage, will denounce you to the 
Mage. You yourselves ought to have accomplished the 
project. But since you have thought proper to communi- ' 
cate it to others, and have given me a part in it — either let 
us do what we do this day, or know that if the day passes, 
no one shall prevent me, but I will myself be your accuser 
to the Mage," 

Otanes, seeing the eagerness of Darius, replied: — 
" Since you thus compel us to precipitate our measures, 
and will allow of no delay, go on to inform us by what 
means we are to gain access to the palace, and how 
attack them ; for you yourself know, having seen them, 
or if not you must have heard, that guards are stationed 
there ; and how are we to pass them ?" " Otanes," re- 
plied Darius, " there are many things that may be 
accomplished, though they cannot in words be made to 
appear practicable ; and on the other hand, there are 
things which seem well enough in words, but which pro- 
duce no signal issue. The guards stationed at the 
palace, as you know, we may pass without difficulty; 

(72) 



MAGES. 225 

for, influenced either by respect or fear, there is no one 
who will not allow us to proceed. Besides, I have a 
very proper pretext for obtaining admission ; for I shall 
say that I am just arrived from Persia, and wish to 
report to the king himself a message from my father. 
— If a lie must be told, let it be told : — for whether we 
lie or speak the truth, we all tend towards the same 
end — -advantage : they lie who believe, that, by urging 
a false plea, they shall be gainers; and they speak the 
truth who think that truth will best promote their in- 
terests, and turn to their benefit. Thus by different 
processes we pursue the same thing. Except for ex- 
pected gain, he who speaks truth would lie ; and except 
for gain, he who lies would speak the truth. Now if any 
of the door-keepers shall readily admit us, he shall, in 
due time, reap his reward : as for him who attempts to 
oppose us, let him be treated instantly as an enemy: 
thus we shall push our way inwards, and perform our 
^part." 

Gobryas next spoke : — " Can we ever, my friends, 
better recover the government ; or if that may not be, 
can we die better than now, when we — we Persians, 
are ruled by a Mage — an earless Mage. As many of you 
as were present when Cambyses lay sick, well remember 
how in dying he imprecated curses on the Persians, if 
they attempted not to repossess themselves of the sove- 
reign rule. We then admitted not his story; but 
imagined that he spoke from ill-will. I now therefore 
. give my vote that we yield to Darius, and that we leave 
this conference only to go direct against the Mages." 
To this all the others assented. 

While these nobles were thus holding consultation, it 
happened that the following events took place. — The two 
Mages had agreed together to endeavour to make Prex- 
aspes their friend; both because he had suffered a 
grievous wrong from Cambyses, who had slain his son ; 
(74) Q 



226 FALL OF THE 

and because he alone knew of the death of Smerdis, 
whom he had destroyed with his own hand. Besides, 
Prexaspes enjoyed a high reputation among the Persians. 
For these reasons, calling for him, they strove to win his 
friendship, and to obtain from him solemn promises that 
he would keep to himself, and discover to no one the 
fraud they had practised upon the Persians; and they 
promised to heap a thousand treasures upon him. Prex- 
aspes engaged to comply with the urgent persuasions of 
the Mages. They then made a second proposal, which 
was that they should convoke a general assembly of the 
Persians under the walls of the palace, and that he, 
ascending a tower, should harangue them, and assure the 
people that they were governed by Smerdis, son of Cyrus, 
and by none other. This they enjoined upon him because 
his word was received with entire confidence among the 
Persians, and because also he had, on various occasions, 
declared his belief that the son of Cyrus was still living, 
and had positively denied the murder. 

Prexaspes professed himself ready to comply with this 
demand also ; and the Mage convoking the Persians, led 
him up to a turret, and commanded him to address 
the people. But he, wilfully forgetful of the part 
they wished him to act, commenced his speech by 
mentioning Achsemenes, the ancestor of Cyrus, and 
so proceeded till he had set forth the benefits con- 
ferred upon the Persians by that prince. Having ex- 
patiated on these, he declared the truth, which he said 
hitherto he had concealed, as it was not safe for him to 
confess what had taken place : but now he was forced by 
necessity to make known the fact. He added that he 
himself — compelled by Cambyses, had put Smerdis, son of 
Cyrus, to death ; and that it was the Mages who reigned. 
Then, having imprecated many curses on the Persians if 
they failed to regain the sovereign power, and to punish 
the Mages — he threw himself headlong from the tower. 

(75) 



MAGES. 227 

Thus died Prexaspes, who had always been reputed a 
man of approved integrity. 

The seven Persians, having' resolved without delay to 
attack the Mage, went to make their vows to the gods. 
At this time they knew nothing- of what had happened 
relative to Prexaspes ; but while proceeding on their way, 
they were informed of all that had occurred. Immediately 
they retired from the road, and again conferred together. 
Some, with Otanes, advised strongly to defer the enter- 
prize, and not to meddle with affairs while in a state of 
such fermentation. But Darius and his seconds urged to 
proceed instantly to execute the plan that had been 
arranged, and by no means to admit delay. While thus 
severally urging* their reasons, there appeared seven pairs 
of hawks, pursuing- two pairs of vultures, plucking and 
tearing them. On seeing this the seven all assented to 
the advice of Darius, and forthwith made for the palace — ■ 
inspirited by the birds {the omen.) 

When they presented themselves at the gates, it hap- 
pened, as Darius had predicted — the guards, in deference 
to men of such high rank, and having no suspicion of their 
intentions, allowed them unquestioned to pass : — marching 
as they did in solemn majesty.* When they reached the 
hall, they fell in with the eunuchs, whose office is to bring 
in all despatches : — these inquired of them for what pur- 
pose they came, and at the same time threatened the 
porters for having suffered them to pass ; and themselves 
opposed the further progress of the seven. But they, 
exhorting each other, drew their daggers, and on the spot 
transfixed those who resisted their advance. — On then 
they went to the saloon. 

Both the Mages happened to be at that time within, 



* Seiy TrojU7r>j y^Eio^zvovQ' or— proceeding under the conduct of 
the gods. 

(78) Q 2 



228 FALL OF THE 

consulting upon the affair of Prexaspes, when they saw the 
eunuchs in confusion, and heard their outcries ; they both 
rushed out, and perceiving what was taking place, put 
themselves on the defensive : while one snatched up a 
bow, the other took a spear: — the parties then engaged, 
the Mage who held the bow, found it of no service against 
a foe at hand, and pressing upon him ; but the other 
with his spear, defended himself, and first wounded 
Aspathines in the thigh, and Intaphernes in the sight, 
which wound cost him his eye, though not his life. While 
this one inflicted these wounds on his assailants, the other, 
finding the bow useless, fled into an inner chamber, com- 
municating with the apartment, intending to close the 
doors. But two of the seven — Darius and Gobryas, 
rushed forward together, and the latter grappled the 
Mage. Darius standing by, hesitated to strike, as they 
were in the dark, fearing to wound Gobryas : — he, per- 
ceiving that Darius stood inactive, exclaimed, " Why 
use you not your hand 1" " Mindful," said he, " lest I 
strike you." — " Drive your blade through both," replied 
Gobryas. Darius obeying, made a thrust with his dagger, 
and by chance killed the Mage. The Mages being killed, 
and their heads cut off, the two Persians who had received 
wounds were left, as well on account of their exhaustion, 
as to keep possession of the citadel. The five, bearing 
the heads of the Mages, ran out, uttering shouts and 
cheers, and calling upon all Persians, related what they 
had effected, and displayed the heads. As they went on 
they slew every Mage who fell in their way. The Persians 
being now informed of what had been done by the seven 
nobles, as well as of the fraud practised upon them by the 
Mages, determined to take part themselves in what was 
going forward. Drawing their daggers therefore, they 
stabbed every Mage that was to be found : and if night 
had not put an end to the slaughter, not one of that order 
would have survived. Up to the present time, the Persians 

(79) 



MAGES. 229 

commemorate the day beyond any other festival; the 
great feast then celebrated is named — the Slaughter of 
the Mages ; and on this occasion no Mage must appear in 
public, and in fact they all keep close within doors. 



SECTION V. 

CONSULTATION OF THE CONSPIRATORS, ACCESSION 
OF DARIUS. 

After the expiration of about five days, and when tran- 
quillity was restored, the conspirators who had removed 
the Mages, deliberated on the state of affairs, and on this 
occasion uttered sentiments for which some of the Greeks 
will scarcely give them credit. Yet it is a fact that they did 
thus speak. Otanes advised to remit the conduct of the 
state to the Persians at large ; his speech was as follows : — 

" To me it seems that no one of us should henceforth 
exercise monarchical power ; for this is neither agreeable 
(to the holder) nor good (for others.) You have seen 
to what an extreme of arrogance Cambyses proceeded ; 
and you have made proof of the arrogance of the Mage. 
How indeed can government be well settled under a 
monarchy which permits the sovereign, without controul, 
to accomplish his will ? If even to the very best of men a 
power like this be committed, it will draw him aside from 
his wonted intentions. For, from the abundance of the 
goods which surround him, arrogance will be generated ; 
and envy is born with man ; and he who is moved by these 
two passions possesses the principles of all wickedness : 
from the first springs a luxuriant growth of crimes ; nor 
(80) Q 3 



230 CONSULTATION OP THE 

less from the second, though of a different kind. One 
might indeed suppose that a man who holds sovereign 
power should be free from envy, since he possesses every 
good : but his subjects find that the contrary takes place ; 
for he entertains a grudge against every virtuous man of 
his times, and delights himself with the most profligate of 
the people, whose calumnies against the virtuous he 
admits. But what is most incongruous is, that if you 
bestow upon him only measured admiration, he is dis- 
pleased—thinking you pay him too little reverence ; but 
if you worship him much, he is offended with you as a flat- 
terer. But to insist upon things still more important. — A 
despot changes the constitutions of the country — violates 
the happiness of families — puts to death those who have 
had no trial. But a government vested in the many — in 
the first place possesses a name, of all names the fairest — 
Equality of Rights. In the next place, none of those 
outrages take place which occur under a monarchy. The 
magistracy is obtained by votes, and exercised under 
responsibility: — the common good is the object of all 
counsels. I therefore give my opinion that, dismissing 
monarchy, we should place sovereign power with the 
people ; for in the people we find all in one." Such was 
the opinion of Otanes. 

Megabysus was for adopting an oligarchy, and thus 
spoke : — " To all that Otanes has said for abolishing 
tyranny I assent; but in recommending that sovereign 
power should be transferred to the multitude, he has 
erred from the better opinion : for, than the rule of the 
mob, nothing is more senseless — nothing more arrogant. 
Nor is it at all to be endured that in escaping from the 
arrogance of a single tyrant, men should fall under the 
arrogance of the profligate people. The tyrant, do what 
he may, does it with intelligence ; but it is not in the 
multitude to know what they do ; for how should they 
know who have no instruction — no perception of what is 

(81) 



CONSPIRATORS. 231 

good in itself, or expedient at the moment ; — who, without 
thought, urge affairs, and themselves rush onwards like a 
torrent? Let, then, the enemies of Persia, advise the 
establishment of a democracy. But for us it will be to 
select a college of the most virtuous men ; and to them 
commit the sovereign power : — in this college we ourselves 
shall be included : — from the best men it is reasonable to 
expect the best counsels." This was the advice given by 
Megabysus. 

Darius, who stood the third in order, next gave his 
opinion. — " In what Megabysus has said of the people, I 
think he has spoken well. But of the oligarchy, not 
well. If the three proposed forms of government — 
namely, democracy, oligarchy, and monarchy, are ima- 
gined to be each in the best condition of which it is sus- 
ceptible, I affirm that this last is much to be preferred ; 
for if the monarch be a good man, nothing better can 
possibly be found, than the rule of such a one who while al- 
ways pursuing the same design, administers affairs exempt 
from the vituperations of the multitude. Under this 
form, better than any other, the counsels of government 
are concealed from men disposed to thwart its operations. 
But in an oligarchy, as many in common pretend to the 
praise of public virtue, personal contestations will violently 
prevail among them. — Each will wish to be the chief, 
and to carry his opinion ; until deep animosities are 
, generated, from which arise seditions ; and from seditions 
murders ; and by murders a transition is made to monarchy. 
And thus it appears that this last form of government is 
really the best. But now when the people bear rule, the 
worst evils cannot fail to follow ; for when corrupt mea- 
sures are participated by many, instead of rivalries taking 
place — (as among oligarchs) powerful combinations will 
be formed. Those who pursue corrupt measures in com- 
mon will unite their forces, and this must proceed until 
some demagogue arises to quell the conspiracy. This 
(82) Q 4 



232 CONSULTATION OF THE 

leader gains the plaudits of the people, and when his 
popularity is at its height, he becomes — a monarch. 
Thus again it appears that monarchy is the best form of 
government. Or to say all in a word — Whence did we 
receive our liberties ? And who bestowed them ? Was it 
the people ? Or was it an oligarchy ? Or was it a monarch 
who bestowed them ? It is then my opinion, that as we 
became free under the rule of one, we should maintain 
the same kind of government. Besides, we ought not to 
dissolve the constitutions of our country, good as they are, 
from which change we could reap no advantage." 

Such were the three opinions proposed. The other 
four of the seven assented to the last. The opinion of 
Otanes, who studied to establish equality among the 
Persians — being overborne, he thus spoke in the midst 
of his colleagues : — " Fellow conspirators ! It seems then 
that one of us must become king, either by taking lots, or 
by the election of the great body of the Persians, to whom 
we may refer the decision; or by some other means. 
Now I do not enter into contention with you ; — I wish 
neither to govern, nor to be governed. On this condition 
then, I concede to you the government, namely, that 
neither I, nor my posterity for ever, shall be subjected to 
the domination of any one of you." To this proposition the 
six agreed ; and he, declining to compete with them, 
retired from the association. And to the present day his 
descendants alone of all the Persians, retain their liberty, 
and yield obedience only so far as they think proper ; yet 
they transgress not the Persian laws. 

The others consulted on the most equitable mode of 
appointing a king; and first they decreed that to Otanes 
and his issue for ever — supposing one of the seven obtained 
the kingdom, there should every year be given by way of 
distinction, a Median suit, together with such presents as 
are the most highly esteemed among the Persians. The 
bcstowment of these peculiar honours was decreed because 

(84) 



CONSPIRATORS. 233 

Otanes first had concerted the revolution, and had made 
them a party in it. Such were the distinctions conferred 
upon him. They then concerted the following con- 
ditions, which should be common to them all. That they 
should all have liberty of access to every part of the palace, 
without being introduced by an officer ; — excepting only 
the royal bed chamber ; — that it should not be lawful for 
the king to take a wife, except from the families of the 
seven conspirators. For determining the election to the 
kingdom they agreed that they should ride together out 
of the city, and that he whose horse first neighed, after 
the rising of the sun, should obtain the kingdom. 

The man who officiated as master of the horse to Darius, 
was a person of intelligence. To this person, named 
(Ebares, Darius addressed himself, after the council broke 
up: — "(Ebares," said he, "the plan we have adopted 
for appointing a king is this — he is to be king whose horse 
first neighs at sun-rise, as we ride together. Now therefore 
if you have any science, use some contrivance by means of 
which we, and not another, may obtain the prize." (Ebares 
thus replied : — " If indeed, my lord, it depends upon this, 
whether or not you are to be king, confide in the event, 
and be of good courage ; for no one shall be king before 
you. I have medicaments, such as we need." " If, 
then," said Darius, " you are possessed of a device, now 
is the time for putting it in practice : defer not to 
use it ; — for to-morrow is to be our trial." (Ebares, 
as soon as it was dark; took the favourite companion 
of the horse Darius was to ride to the suburbs, where he 
left it, and led the horse afterwards to the same place. 

At dawn of day, the six, according to appointment, 
appeared on horseback, and proceeded through the su- 
burbs : when they drew near the place where the mare had 
been left, the horse of Darius moved forwards and neighed : 
at the same instant there was a flash of lightning with 
thunder from a clear sky. These things happening to 
(86) 



234 ACCESSION OF DARIUS. 

Darius as if by concert, accomplished his designation ; 
and the others alighting 1 from their horses, did him rever- 
ence as king. 



SECTION VI. 

The twenty satrapies of darius. 

Darius, son of Hystaspes, was acknowledged king. 
And, except the Arabians, all the nations of Asia whom 
Cyrus first, and Cambyses afterwards had vanquished, 
submitted to his sway. The Arabians indeed never yielded 
obedience, or became subject to the Persians ; but re- 
mained on terms of alliance, affording to Cambyses passage 
to Egypt ; for without their consent the Persians would 
never have been able to penetrate into Egypt* 

Darius contracted his first marriages in Persian families : 
— he took to wife the two daughters of Cyrus — Atossa, 
and Artystone : the first had been the wife of her brother 
Cambyses, and afterwards of the Mage ; but Artystone 
had not before been married : he took also Parmys, 
daughter of Smerdis, son of Cyrus ; and had besides the 
daughter of Otanes, who had detected the Mage. When 
his authority was every where confirmed, he set up first 
a statue of himself in stone : it represented his person on 
horseback, and bore an inscription to this purport: — 
" Darius, son of Hystaspes, by the courage of his horse — 
the name of which was given— and by means of GEbares, 
his groom, obtained the kingdom of Persia." These 
things being accomplished in Persia, he next distributed 
his dominions into twenty governments, called satrapies. 
And having arranged the provinces, and appointed 

(89) 



THE TWENTY SATRAPIES. 235 

governors to them, he fixed the tax which was to accrue 
to him from each. In this distribution he joined conti- 
guous nations together ; or sometimes passing over those 
which bordered on each other, he assigned to the same 
government nations lying more remote.* 

[Thus he regulated the governments and the annual revenues : 
— Those who paid tribute in silver were to bring the stipulated 
weight according to the Babylonian talent; while the Euboic 
talent was the measure for gold: — the Babylonian talent is 
equal to seventy Euboic pounds. Neither in the reign of 
Cyrus, nor again in that of Cambyses, were any fiscal ordi- 
nances established ; but the nations brought presents. On ac- 
count of this taxing, as well as for several measures of a similar 
kind, the Persians were wont to say that Darius was a trader ; 
Cambyses a lord ; but Cyrus a father : — for the first managed 
all his affairs with a view to gain ; — the second was at once 
severe and negligent; while the last was gentle, and in every 
thing laboured for the good of his subjects. 

The Ionians, the Magnesians— of Asia, the JEolians, the 
Carians, the Lycians, the Mileyans, and the Pamphylians, 
were together enjoined to furnish four hundred talents of silver : 
— these formed the first satrapy. The Mysians, the Lydians, 
the Lasonians, the Cabalians, and the Hygennians, were taxed 
at five hundred talents : — this is the second satrapy. The Hel- 
lespontines— on the right {the Asiatic) side, the Phrygians, the 
Thracians —of Asia, the Paphlagonians, the Mariandynians, 
and the Syrians, paid three hundred and sixty talents : — this is 
the third satrapy. The Cilicians furnished three hundred and 
sixty white horses— one for every day of the year ; besides five 
hundred talents of silver. Of this sum, one hundred and forty 

* The version commonly given of this passage contradicts the facts as 
stated presently afterwards by our author. His meaning seems to be that, 
instead of making all the satrapies compact and orbicular, some of them 
-were composed of nations lying on a straggling line, and which, for rea- 
sons of local convenience, might best be comprehended under the same 
superintendant. Major Rennell notices the seeming inconsistency 
without fully explaining it. 

(90) 



:23(J THE TWENTY SATRAPIES. 

talents were employed in maintaining a body of horse in 
Cilicia ; the remaining three hundred and sixty were carried to 
Darius: — this is the fourth satrapy. The country extending 
from the city Posidaeum, built by Amphilochus, son of Am- 
phiaraus, on the borders of Cilicia and Syria, as far as Egypt, 
— excepting a district belonging to Arabia, which was exempt 
from tribute — paid three hundred and fifty talents: — rthis, 
which was the fifth satrapy, includes all Phoenicia, the country 
called the Syrian Palestine, and Cyprus. Egypt, and the 
parts of Libya contiguous to Egypt, with Cyrene and Barca, 
which were comprehended in the Egyptian government, paid 
seven hnndred talents, exclusive of the revenues accruing from 
the fish of the lake Mceris ; and exclusive also of an additional 
tribute of grain : for 120,000 measures were furnished to main- 
tain the Persians and their auxiliaries, who occupied the white 
fortress at Memphis : — this is the sixth satrapy. The Satta- 
gydes, the Gondarians, the Dadices, and the Aparytes, were 
comprehended in the seventh satrapy, and paid one hun- 
dred and seventy talents. Susa and the remaining part of 
Cissia, formed the eighth satrapy, and paid three hundred 
talents. 

Babylon, and the rest of Assyria, rendered to Darius 1,000 
talents of silver, and five hundred youths, for the service of the 
palace : — this was the ninth satrapy. Ecbatana, with the rest 
of Media — the Paricanians, and the Orthocorybantians, paid 
four hundred and fifty talents, and formed the tenth satrapy. 
The Caspians, the Pausices — both Pantimathians and Dareites, 
rendered two hundred talents : — this is the eleventh satrapy. 
The tribute of the Bactrians, as far as the JEglians, was fixed at 
three hundred and sixty talents : — this was the twelfth sa- 
trapy. From Pactyica, and the Armenians, and the neigh- 
bouring people, as far as the shores of the Euxine, four hundred 
talents were received ; — and this is the thirteenth satrapy. 
The Sagartians, the Saranges, the Thamanaeans, the Utians, 
and the Mycians, with the islanders of the Erythraean sea, 
where the king sends those whom he banishes, paid a tribute of 
six hundred talents ; and formed the fourteenth satrapy. The 
Saces and the Caspians (or Casians) rendered two hundred 

(93) 



THE TWENTY SATRAPIES. 237 

and fifty talents : — this was the fifteenth satrapy. The Par- 
thians, the Chorasmians, the Sogdians, and the Arians, paid 
three hundred talents ; and made the sixteenth satrapy. The 
Paricanians and the .Ethiopians of Asia, furnished four hun- 
dred talents :'■ — this was the seventeenth satrapy. The Matie- 
nians, the Saspirians, and the Alarodians were taxed at two 
hundred talents ; and constituted the eighteenth satrapy. 
From the Moschians, the Tibarenians, the Macrosians, the 
Mossy ncecians, and the Marsians, three hundred talents were 
demanded : they formed the nineteenth satrapy. The Indians, 
a people much more numerous than any other that is known, 
contributed a sum proportionately larger than that of any 
other division, for they paid three hundred and sixty talents of 
gold dust (or ingots) ; this was the twentieth satrapy. 

Now if these sums, reckoned by the Babylonian talent, are 
reduced to the Euboic, they will amount to 9,840 talents ; and 
if gold is reckoned at thirteen times the value of silver, 
then the ingots above-mentioned will amount to 4,680. 
These sums computed, make the yearly tribute collected 
by Darius, amount to 14,560 Euboic talents. Not to 
mention smaller sums. This tribute he derived from Asia, 
and from no great extent of Libya. But at a later period 
he received an additional revenue from the islands (of the 
JEgccan sea) and from Europe as far as Thessaly. This 
treasure was preserved by the king in the following manner : — 
The metal was melted down, and poured into earthen jars, 
which when filled were broken away : as often as money was 
wanted, the sum required for the occasion was struck from the 
masses. 

Such were these governments, and their appointed taxes. 
Persia itself, and that country alone, I have not enumerated 
as paying tribute ; for its people were exempted from taxes : 
yet though they paid no stipulated sums, they offered gifts. 
The Ethiopians bordering upon Egypt, whom Cambyses sub- 
dued when he advanced against the Macrobian Ethiopians— 
who live about the sacred city Nysa, and celebrate festivals to 
Bacchus—these people, I say, with their neighbours, who 
treat their dead in the same manner as the Calantian Indians, 
(97). 



238 NATIONS OF INDIA. 

and inhabit subterranean dwellings — these together fur- 
nished — and in my time continued to do so — every third year, 
two chcenices of unmolten gold, two hundred planks of ebony, 
five Ethiopian children, and twenty large elephants' tusks. 
The Colchians compounded to make an offering ; as did the 
adjoining people as far as mount Caucasus, which forms the 
limit of the Persian sway ; for those who occupy the country 
north of Caucasus mind not the Persians. These people con- 
tinued in my time to furnish, once in five years, the appointed 
offering, which consisted of two hundred youths of both sexes. 
The Arabians every year make an offering of a thousand talents 
of frankincense. Such are the gifts which the king receives, 
besides the tribute. 

The Indians obtain the great quantity of gold which, as I 
have said, the king receives from them, in the manner presently 
to be described. The eastern part of India is a desert of sand, 
and of all the nations known to us, or of which we possess any 
certain information, the Indians are the farthest towards the 
east, being, on that side, the first people of Asia : for the 
sands render the country beyond them towards the east unin- 
habitable. The nations of India are many, and speak different 
languages. Some of these nations are nomadic; some not. 
Some inhabit the marshes of the river, and eat raw fish, which 
they pursue, and take in vessels, formed of reeds (bamboo) 
each division (between the knots) of the reed, forms a boat 
(canoe). These Indiaus wear garments made from a species of 
rush, which grows by the rivers' side. The plant, when ga- 
thered, is beaten, and then platted in the manner of matting, 
and is worn as a covering to the breast. Other Indian nations, 
living to the east of those last mentioned, are nomadic, and eat 
raw flesh : they are called Padaeans ; and their customs are 
such as these — When any one labours under disease, whether 
man or woman, the nearest relatives or most familiar friends 
kill him; professing as their motive that if the person were 
wasted by disease, his flesh would become corrupt (unfit to be 
eaten). You shall therefore find a sick man denying himself 
to be ill. But his friends, being of a contraiy opinion, kill and 
feast upon him. Thus also, when a woman is ill, her nearest 

(99) 



NATIONS OF INDIA. 239 

relatives follow the same practice as the men. Whoever also, 
attains old age, they kill and devour ; but this happens to 
few; for most, falling into some malady, are put to death. 
With some other Indians, it is the rule not to take life from 
any thing that has breathed. They neither sow the ground, 
nor think of constructing houses; but subsist on herbs; their 
country produces also spontaneously a grain , the size of millet, 
enclosed in a husk : this they gather and eat, husk and all, 
boiled. If any one of their number falls sick, he goes forth to 
some desert place, and there lays himself down ; nor does any 
one take thought of him, either dead or sick. All the Indians 
I have mentioned, are extremely gross in their manners. Their 
complexion is nearly the same as that of the Ethiopians, whom 
also they in other respects resemble. They occupy a region 
very remote from the Persians, which lies towards the south, 
and never yielded obedience to king Darius. 

There are other Indians not far distant from the city 
Caspatyrus, and the region Pactyica, and therefore north of 
the Indian nations just mentioned. The mode of life followed 
by these is similar to that of the Bactrians. They are the 
most warlike of all the Indians ; and it is these who furnish 
the gold. There is in that quarter a district, rendered unin- 
habitable by sands. This sandy desert abounds with ants, 
which in size are between a dog and a fox. Some of 
the species caught there are preserved by the Persian 
king. These ants form their habitations under ground, bur- 
rowing into the sand in the same manner as ants are seen 
to do in Greece ; and indeed in the form of their bodies they 
are very similar. The sand in which these animals work their 
way, is fraught with gold ; to collect which, the Indians pro- 
ceed to the desert. Each man takes three camels, leashed 
together abreast : — a female being led between two males : 
the man rides the female, which he takes care is one that has 
been just parted from her young. Now camels are not in- 
ferior to horses in swiftness ; and are besides able to support 
much heavier burdens. The figure of the camel is so well 
known to well-informed Greeks, that I need not describe it ; 
(103) 



240 NATIONS OF INDIA. 

yet some may not know that the camel in its hind legs, has 
four thigh bones, and four knees. 

Thus equipped then, the Indians proceed to collect the 
gold ; and they calculate the time so as they may be en- 
gaged in the pursuit during the very hottest time of the day ; 
for just at the hour of the greatest heat, the ants hide themselves 
under ground : and in that climate, the sun is the most fervent, 
not as elsewhere, at noon ; but in the morning, from the time 
when it has risen some way, until the hour at which market 
closes :* during this space the sun burns more intensely than 
at noon in Greece ; so that the people, it is said, sprinkle 
themselves then with water. At mid-day, the sun is nearly 
equally ardent in India as elsewhere ; but presently, as the 
day declines, the heat becomes such as in other countries it 
is felt in the morning : towards evening, the temperature 
declines still more ; and at sun-set, the cold is very great. 
When the Indians arrive at the spot, they fill their leathern 
bags with the sand, and then retreat as precipitately as possible. 
For instantly that the ants perceive, by the smell, as the 
Persians say — that the men are there, they pursue them ; 
and in swiftness, these animals so far surpass any other crea- 
tures, that unless while the ants are rallying for the chace, 
the Indians had gained some good distance, not a man of them 
could be saved. Now it is that the male camels, being 
inferior in swiftness to the females, would hang in the rear, 
if they were not drawn along by the female, who is between 
them ; for she, mindful of the young she has left, gives way to 
no sense of fatigue. Thus it is, as the Persians affirm, that 
the Indians obtain the greater part of their gold; for the 
quantity raised from mines is small. 

While Greece enjoys a climate of the most happy tem- 
perament, it happens that the rarest productions fall to the 
share of the very extremities of the habitable earth ; and thus 
India, as I have just said, is the farthest inhabited region 
towards the east, and there the animals — both quadrupeds 

* About an hour before noon. 

(106) 



ARABIA. 241 

and birds, are much larger than in other countries : — we must 
except the horse, which is surpassed in size by the Nisaean 
horses of the Medes. In India also is found this prodigious 
quantity of gold — partly dug from the earth, partly brought 
down by the torrents, and partly seized in the mode above 
described. And there also are found those trees of the forest 
which, instead of fruit, bear wool (cotton) superior both in 
beauty and goodness to that of sheep. It is from these trees 
that the Indians obtain their clothing. 

Again : — Arabia is another extremity of the habitable 
earth, towards the south, and this is the only country which 
produces frankincense, and myrrh, cassia, cinnamon, and 
ledanum. All these productions, excepting only myrrh, the 
Arabians obtain with extreme difficulty. Frankincense they 
collect by burning the odoriferous gum — storax — the same 
which is imported into Greece by the Phoenicians ; it is, I 
say, by fumigation with this gum that they obtain frankin- 
cense ; for the trees which bear it, are guarded by winged 
serpents of a small size, and various forms, which in great 
numbers surround every tree : they are similar to those which 
invade Egypt (p. 135) and are by no means to be driven from 
the trees except by the smoke of the gum storax. The Ara- 
bians affirm that the whole country would be filled with these 
serpents, if that did not take place which I know happens to 
vipers. By the wise providence of God, as we. may well 
believe, it is that those creatures which are timid, and which 
serve for food to others, are all so constituted as to be very 
prolific; lest in being preyed upon, the species should become 
extinct : while fierce and noxious animals produce but few. 
Thus, for example, the hare, which is hunted by all— beasts, 
birds, and men, is the only animal that brings forth without 
intermission— nursing at the same time young in every stage ; 
but the lioness, on the coutrary — the mightiest and the most 
daring of animals, brings forth only once in her life ; nor can 
she bear again.* 

* Nam dum partum edit, simul uterum ejecit. Cujus rei hasc causa 
est : quando catulus in utero sese incipit raovere, turn vero quoniam 
(108) R 



242 PRODUCTIONS OF ARABIA — 

And thus also, if vipers, and if the flying serpents of Arabia 
multiplied as fast as their nature admits, the earth would not 
be habitable to man. But these creatures destroy each 
other : — the female inflicts death by her bite upon the male ; 
and then the young, avenging their father, tear in pieces their 
mother. Yet those serpents that are not hurtful to man 
produce eggs, from which many young are hatched. Vipers 
are indeed found in all parts of the earth ; but flying serpents 
abound in Arabia, and no where else. 

In the mode I have mentioned the Arabians obtain frankin- 
cense : — Cassia is thus procured : — having covered every part 
of the body and the face, except the eyes, with skins and 
hides, they set out towards a shallow lake, near which the 
cassia grows :— around, and in this lake, lodge winged animals, 
very similar to bats : —they utter a fearful cry, and are ex- 
tremely fierce. These creatures they ward off from the eyes, 
while they gather the cassia. Cinnamon is collected in «a 
manner still more admirable. — Where it grows, or what soil 
bears it, we know not — unless we adopt the account, ,more 
probable than any other, given by those who say that it grows 
in the region in which Bacchus was nursed, whence, as the 
Arabians say, certain large birds bring the husks which we, 
from the Phoenicians, call cinnamon. These birds bring them 
with clay, to form their nests, which they construct upon the 
inaccessible summits of mountains. To obtain the cinnamon, 
the Arabians adopt the following device ; — they bring into the 
neighbouring plains a plentiful supply of the flesh of oxen, 
asses, and other beasts of burden : having placed these as near 
as possible to the nests, the men retire to a distance : the birds 
then fly towards the flesh, and bear away portions of it to their 
nests, which not being strong enough to sustain the weight, 
are broken, and fall to the earth : the men then coming up 
gather the cinnamon, which they carry into different 
countries. 

ungues habet longe omnium acutissimos, fodicat uterum ; augescensque 
multo magis penetrat lacerando ; ad extreinum, quando partus iustat, 
•nihil amplius sani in utero supcrest. All this is false. 

(Ill) 



ETHIOPIA— EUROPE. 243 

The procuring of ledanum, called by the Arabians ladanunt, 
is even yet more wonderful ; for though the most odoriferous 
of substances, nothing can be more offensive to the smell than 
the source whence it is derived ; for it is found adhering to the 
beards of goats, like gum that exudes from trees. It is used 
in preparing many ointments, and the Arabians burn it more 
than any other incense. So much for these aromatics, of 
which the fragrancy is such, that all Arabia breathes a divine 
perfume. 

This country produces two kinds of sheep, worthy of admi- 
ration, and no where else to be found. The one species have 
tails not less than three cubits long, which if suffered to trail 
on the ground, would be so bruised as to ulcerate : but to 
remedy this inconvenience, every shepherd is obliged to prac- 
tise the craft of the carpenter, so far as to construct carriages, 
upon which he binds the tails of his sheep : — so every sheep's 
taH keeps its chariot. The other species of sheep have broad 
tails — even as much as a cubit wide. 

The extremity of the habitable earth towards the south is 
formed by Ethiopia, which lies south-west of Arabia. And 
this region affords much gold, and has elephants of vast bulk, 
and forest trees of all kinds, and ebony, and men of great 
stature, great beauty, and extraordinary longevity. These 
then are the extremities of the earth in Asia and Libya. 
Concerning its extremities in Europe, towards the west, I have 
no certain information. For I do not myself assent to the 
opinion of those who affirm, that there is a certain river called 
by barbarians Eridanus, discharging itself into a northern sea, 
from which amber is said to be brought. Nor do I know 
that there are islands named Cassiterides,* whence cassiteros 
(tin) is imported to us. For the name Eridanus may convince 
us that it is of Grecian, not of barbarian origin, and probably 
invented by some poet. Besides, though I have sought in- 
formation, I have never heard from any one who had himself 
seen it, that there is a sea beyond Europe (towards the north.) 
Yet it is certain, that both tin and amber are brought from 
the extreme parts of Europe. 

* The Seilly Islands, or Britain. 

(115) R 2 



244 PLAIN OF THE CHORASMIANS. 

That there is much gold in the northern regions of Europe 
is also certain : but how it is obtained, I cannot positively 
relate. It is indeed affirmed that the Arimaspians, a one- 
eyed nation, take it by force from griffins. But I cannot 
believe that there are men in other respects like the rest of 
mankind, who have, from birth, only one eye. — (/ say then} 
that the extremities of the inhabited earth, which surround 
and enclose all other lands, possess those productions which we 
esteem most excellent and rare. 

There is in Asia a plain, shut in on every side by mountains, 
through which there are five passes. This plain formerly be- 
longed to the Chorasmians, being situated in the borders of 
that people, and of the Hyrcanians, and Parthians, and 
Sarangians, and Thamanians : but since the domination of 
the Persians, it has been the property of the king. From 
these encircling hills rises a large river named Aces, which 
in five separate channels irrigates the lands of the people 
above-mentioned : — a stream issuing from each of the ravines, 
flows towards each people : but since the Persian conquest of 
this country, miseries which I shall describe have been in- 
flicted upon them. — The king caused the mountain passes to 
be closed, placing a gate at each entrance. The passage of 
the water being stopped, the' plain became a lake, for the 
water continued to pour in, but found no exit. Those there- 
fore who hitherto had received the benefit of these streams, 
suffered the most extreme ills from the want of water. In the 
winter indeed these people, like others, have rain ; but in 
the summer, when they sow their millet and sesame, they 
sought for it vain. No water being granted to them, they, 
with their wives, proceeding to Persia, and standing before 
the palace, made a loud outcry. At their urgent request 
the king ordered that gate to be opened which led towards the 
lands of those who were most in need, and when these were 
satiated, the sleuce was shut, and another opened to supply 
the fields of those who next were in most extreme want. As I 
have been informed, very large sums, besides the tribute, are 
paid to procure an order for opening a sleuce.] 

(117) 



245 



SECTION VII. 

STORY OF INTAPHERNES: OF OROETES AND POLY- 
CRATES. 

Intaphernes, one of the seven conspirators against the 
Mage, suffered death in consequence of an act of vio- 
lence, soon after the revolution. Wishing for an audi- 
ence with the king, he sought to enter the palace ; — for 
such was the law agreed upon among them, that any 
one of the seven conspirators might have freedom of 
access to the king, without the formality of an introduc- 
tion, excepting only his bedchamber. Intaphernes there- 
fore, being one of the seven, thought proper to claim his 
right of immediate entrance on one occasion, when both 
the porter and the internuncio obstructed his progress, 
affirming that the king was in bed. But Intaphernes 
thinking this a falsehood, drew his scymetar, and cut off 
the ears and the noses of both, and stringing them on a 
bridle, put them about the necks of these officers, and so 
dismissed them. They, presenting themselves before the 
king, related the cause of what they had suffered. Darius 
at first apprehended that this 4eed had been perpetrated by 
the consent of the six, and therefore sent for each of them, 
and separately demanded whether he approved of what 
had been done. When he found that they were not 
parties to the act, he arrested Intaphernes — himself, his 
children, and all his relations, having great reason to 
suppose that he might be plotting rebellion in concert with 
them. After putting them in confinement, he condemned 
them to die. But the wife of Intaphernes, coming to 
the gates of the palace, continued for a length of time 
weeping and lamenting, and at last moved Darius to 
compassion, who sent a messenger to address to her from 
(119) R 3 



246 OR(ETHS AND 

himself these words — " Woman ! Darius the king grants 
to you the power to release one of your family, now im- 
prisoned — him whom you shall choose." She, after con- 
sideration, replied — " If the king grants me the life of 
one, I select from all — my brother." When Darius 
heard her answer, he wondered, and sent this question — 
" Woman ! the king inquires the reason why, leaving 
your husband and children to their fate, you have chosen 
your brother to survive, though he is less near to you 
than your children, and less endeared than your hus- 
band." She replied — " O king ! if it shall please the 
gods, I may have another husband, and other children ; 
but as my father and mother are no more, I can never have 
another brother ; for this reason therefore I have chosen 
him." Darius thought she had determined well, and 
granted to her, in good will, not only her brother, but 
her eldest son also : — all the others he put to death. In 
this way presently perished one of the seven. 

About the time when Cambyses was labouring under 
his last sickness, the following events took place. — 
Orcetes, a Persian, who had been appointed governor of 
Sardis by Cyrus, devised a most atrocious violence to- 
wards Polycrates of Samos, from whom he had received no 
injury — who had uttered no contumely against him — whom 
he had never seen, and whom nevertheless he sought to 
lay hold of, and to destroy. The occasion of this ill-will 
is commonly said to have been this : — Orcetes and another 
Persian, named Mitrobates, prince of the province of 
Dascylium, were sitting together at the palace gates, 
and in the course of conversation, fell into dispute, and in 
challenging for themselves the praise of military virtue, 
Mitrobates reproachfully said to Orcetes — " And are you 
to be reckoned a man, who have not obtained for the king 
the island of Samos, which lies so near to your province, 
and which might so easily be conquered, and of which one 
of the natives, with fifteen armed men, seditiously possessed 

(120) 



POLYCRATES. 247 

himself, and now governs V Orostes, as they say, deeply 
stung with this reproach, conceived the desire, not indeed 
of revenging himself upon the man who had uttered it, 
but of destroying Polycrates, on account of whom he had 
been so offended. There are a few who affirm that 
Orostes sent a herald to Samos to make some demand, 
which is not specified, and that at the time Polycrates 
was reclining in the saloon — Anacreon of Teios being 
present ; and that either from an intentional contempt 
towards the message of Oroetes, or from mere accident, 
when the herald presented himself and delivered his mes- 
sage, Polycrates being turned to the wall, neither inclined 
towards him, nor gave him any reply. 

In these two ways the story of the death of Polycrates 
is told. Every one may adopt that which he thinks most 
probable. Oroetes then residing at Magnesia on the 
Meander, sent Myrsus, son of Gyges,. a Lydian, to Samos 
with a despatch; but whose real errand was to inform 
himself of the dispositions of Polycrates. Now Poly- 
crates is the first of the Greeks, of whom we have any 
knowledge, who formed the plan of acquiring the domi- 
nation of the sea; unless indeed we except Minos of 
Cnossus, or any other who before his time might be master 
of the sea. But within the boundaries of authentic his- 
tory, Polycrates is the first who entertained the confident 
expectation of ruling by this means Ionia and the islands. 
Oroetes being informed of his designs, sent to him a 
letter to the following effect : — " Thus says Oroetus to 
Polycrates : — I am informed that you are concerting great 
enterprises, and that your pecuniary means are not equal 
to the extent of your designs. Now if you will adopt the 
plan I propose, you will at once promote your own affairs, 
and save me. For the kin,g Cambyses meditates my 
death, of which I have certain information ; if therefore 
you will transport me and my treasures to Samos, you 
shall have one part of them, and I another. Possessed 
(122) R 4 



248 ORCETES AND 

of this wealth, you may become master of all Greece. 
But if you entertain doubts of what I say concerning my 
treasures, send one of your most trusty ministers, to 
whom I will exhibit them." 

Polycrates was delighted with this communication, and 
accepted the condition : and eagerly panting after the 
money, he first sent to inspect it, Maeandrius, son of Mse- 
andrius, a citizen of Samos, who was his secretary, and 
who not long afterwards dedicated at the temple of Juno 
all the ornamental furniture — and it was indeed admir- 
able, belonging to the saloon of Polycrates. Oroetes 
learning that he was to expect some one to inspect his 
treasures, filled eight large coffers with stones, nearly to 
the brim, strewing the surface with gold pieces: then 
sealing down the chest, he held them in readiness. Ma3- 
andrius arrived, viewed the coffers, and made his report 
to Polycrates ; who, contrary to the prohibitions of the 
seers, and the advice of his friends, prepared to go him- 
self (to the continent). His daughter moreover had, in 
a vision, seen her father aloft in the air, washed by Jove 
(the rain) and anointed by the sun. She having seen 
this vision, sought by all possible means to prevent his 
leaving Samos to visit Oroetes ; and even as he was going 
on board the galley, she besought him with imprecations 
(or with ill auguries) not to proceed. But he threatened 
her that if he returned safe, he would a long time keep 
her from marrying. To which she replied, by uttering 
a wish that so it might be ; for she had rather remain any 
length of time unmarried, than be deprived of her father. 
But Polycrates spurning all advice, set sail to visit 
Oroetes, taking with him not a few of his friends, among 
whom was Democedes, son of Calliphon, of Crotona, the 
most skilful practitioner of medicine in his times. Very 
soon after Polycrates reached Magnesia, he miserably 
perished by a death unworthy both of his rank and cha- 
racter; for, excepting the tyrants of Syracuse, not one 

(125) 



POLYCRATES. 249 

of. the Grecian tyrants could be cbmpared with Polycrates 
for magnificence. — In a mode indescribably unworthy, 
did Orcetes put Polycrates to death; — for he cru- 
cified him ! Those of his attendants who were Sa- 
mians he dismissed, commanding them to thank him for 
their liberty ; but all those who were strangers or servants 
he held for slaves. Thus did Polycrates, while suspended 
on the cross, accomplish the vision of his daughter, for 
he was washed by Jove, when it rained, and anointed by 
the sun with the exuding humours of his own body. And 
thus terminated the many felicities of Polycrates, accord- 
ing to the predictions of Amasis king of Egypt. 

But not long afterwards, vengeance on account of Poly- 
crates overtook Orcetes. For after the death of Cambyses, 
and during the reign of the Mages, Orcetes, who continued 
at Sardis, had sent no aids to the Persian government, 
then under the usurped administration of these Medes (the 
Mages,) but availing himself of the perturbation of the 
times, had put to death Mitrobates, the prefect of Dascy- 
lium, who had reproached him on account of Polycrates. 
He killed also Cranaspes, son of Mitrobates ; both of them 
men of high repute in Persia. Many other atrocities he 
perpetrated ; and a certain courier of Darius who brought 
unwelcome despatches, he waylaid on his return, and 
killed ; and so disposed of the bodies — both of man and 
horse, that they were never more seen. 

Darius, from the time of his accession, had wished to 
wreak vengeance upon Orcetes for all his crimes, and 
especially for the murder of Mitrobates and his son. 
But he judged it not proper to send a force against him 
openly, while the affairs of the state were still unsettled, 
and his own authority but recently established ; besides 
that he knew Orcetes commanded a large force — was 
attended by a thousand Persian spearmen, and held the 
government of Phrygia, Lydia, and Ionia. Under these 
circumstances, Darius, to meet the difficulty, summoned 
(127) 



250 DEATH OF ORGETES. 

the most eminent of the Persians, whom he thus ad- 
dressed. — " Who among you — Persians ! will undertake 
to achieve for me by skill, what cannot be effected by 
force and arms ? For where skill is needed, force is un- 
availing. Who then among you will either bring Orostes 
alive to me, or put him to death ? Far from profiting the 
Persians, he works us great mischiefs. He it was who 
destroyed two of us — Mitrobates and his son, and he it 
was who killed the messenger sent by me to summon 
him; and now he displays towards us an insolence not to 
be endured." 

Thus spoke Darius : — presently thirty Persians professed 
severally their willingness to accomplish the plan alone. 
And when they contended who should attempt it, Darius 
commanded them to draw lots. This they did, and 
Bagaeus, son of Artontes, obtained the lot. To effect his 
purpose, he wrote many letters, on a variety of affairs, 
to which he affixed the seal of Darius : with these he 
proceeded to Sardis, and on his arrival, being introduced 
to an audience of Orostes, he took the letters, one by one, 
and gave them to the royal secretary to read : — for all the 
governors of provinces have with them royal secretaries. 
These letters Bagaeus delivered as a means of making 
trial of the guards, whether they were disposed to revolt 
from Orcetes. Observing them to pay respectful atten- 
tion to the letters, and especially to the commands which 
they contained, he delivered one in which were these 
words — " Persians ! king Darius forbids you to be guards 
to Orcetes." They hearing this, lowered to him their 
lances. Bagaeus seeing them so obedient to the mandate, 
became instantly confident, and delivered the last of the 
letters to the secretary, in which was written — " King 
Darius commands the Persians at Sardis to kill Orcetes." 
The guards no sooner heard this, than they drew their 
scymetars, and slew him on the spot. Thus the avengers 
of Polycrates of Samos overtook Orcetes the Persian. 

(128) 



251 - 



SECTION VIII. 



DEMOCEDES. 



Not long after the time when the treasures of Orcetes 
had arrived and been received at Susa, it happened that 
king- Darius, in alighting from his horse while hunting, 
twisted his foot so severely that the ankle was completely 
dislocated. At first he put himself under the care of the 
Egyptians whom he retained about him, and whom he 
had believed to be eminent in the healing art. But they 
by twisting the foot, and using force, increased the mis- 
chief. So severe was the pain, that for seven days and 
nights Darius had no sleep : on the eighth, as he grew 
worse, some one announced to the king that, being at 
Sardis, he had there heard of the medical skill of Demo- 
cedes of Crotona. Darius commanded him instantly to 
be brought in. He was found in a neglected condition 
among the slaves of Orostes, and when brought forward, 
he dragged fetters behind him, and was clad in rags. 

As he stood in the midst, he was asked by Darius if he 
was versed in the art : he denied, fearing lest he should 
be recognized, and so his return to Greece should be for 
ever prevented; but Darius perceiving that he was in 
truth a man of skill, commanded whips and goads to be 
fetched. He then professed himself, saying that, though 
very far from being well acquainted with medicine, yet, 
that having waited upon a certain physician, he had 
acquired some rude knowledge of the art. Upon this the 
king put himself under his care, and he, using the Gre- 
cian methods of cure, and adopting mild remedies after 
the violent means that had been employed, obtained sleep 
(130) 



•2frf 



DEMOCEDES 



for his patient, and in a short time effected a perfect 
cure, when Darius had despaired of ever regaining the 
use of the foot. The king afterwards bestowed upon 
Democedes two pairs of golden fetters. In receiving 
them, he asked if the king, in recompense for the cure, 
intended to assign to him a double ill. Darius pleased 
with this speech, sent him to his wives, who were informed 
by the officers of the palace, " that this was the man who 
had restored the king's life." Each of them dipped a 
goblet into a coffer of gold pieces, and presented it to 
Democedes ; and so liberally did they do this, that the 
servant who followed him, named Scitus, collected a large 
sum; merely by picking up the pieces which fell from the 
goblets. 

This Democedes left Crotona, and came to attend on 
Polycrates from the following circumstances : — His father 
was a man of so irascible and difficult a temper, that at 
length he left him and came to iEgina ; there he estab- 
lished himself, and though unfurnished with means, and 
destitute of the instruments of his profession, in the first 
year he outstripped the most eminent physicians of the 
island. In the second year, a talent was voted to him by 
the JEginetans, as a pension from*the public purse. In the 
third year, the Athenians granted him one hundred 
pounds.* In the fourth year, he was hired by Poly- 
crates, at a salary of two talents : thus it was that he 
came to Samos. This man it was who raised so high the 
reputation of the physicians of Crotona, for there was a 
time when, throughout Greece, they were esteemed to be 
the most eminent in the profession; and next to them, 
those of Cyrene. About the same period the Argives were 
talked of as the first musicians. 

After Democedes had healed Darius at Susa, he 

* If the text in this place has not suffered injury, the sums voted to 
this physician may be valued as follows: — By the jEginetans about £ 194. 
By the Athenians, £322. By Polycrates £388. 

(132) 



OF CROTONA. 253 

obtained a spacious house — was a guest at the king's 
table, and, excepting that he could not return to Greece, 
possessed all he could wish for. By his intercessions 
with Darius, he rescued the Egyptian surgeons who had 
first been employed, and whom the king was about to 
empale, because they had been surpassed by a Greek 
physician. Eleus also, the seer, who had followed Poly- 
crates, and who remained neglected among the captives, 
Democedes set at liberty ; for he possessed great influence 
with the king. 

A short time after these events, it happened that 
Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus, and now the wife of 
Darius, had a tumour on the breast, which breaking, 
spread. While it was but small, she, from modesty, 
concealed it, and spoke of it to no one : but when it grew 
worse, she sent for Democedes, and showed it to him. 
He declared he could heal her ; yet first exacted from her 
a solemn promise that, as his recompense, she would do 
for him whatever he might ask ; and he engaged to ask 
nothing which it would be dishonourable to her to grant. 
When, by the exercise of his art, he had restored her 
to health, Atossa, instructed by Democedes, took a 
favourable opportunity to address Darius as follows — 
" Possessed as you are, my lord, of forces so great, do 
you sit still ? Will you not acquire for the Persians some 
new people or power ? It would be well that a man in 
the prime of life, and who is the master of immense 
wealth, should exhibit himself in signal enterprises, that 
the Persians may learn that they are governed by a man. 
Two reasons should influence you to adopt such a course ; 
first, as I have said, that the Persians may know that it 
is a man who rules them, and secondly, that they, being 
worn in war, and drawn from an idle life, may not hatch 
conspiracies against you. Now, in the vigorous season 
of youth, is the time to make yourself known by some 
worthy enterprize. — While the body is yet tending to- 
(134) 



254 DEVICE OP 

wards its perfection, the mind grows also; and again 
decays as the body withers in age, and becomes feeble in 
action." Thus she repeated the part she had been taught. 
Darius thus replied. — " Woman ! you have said only what 
I have myself resolved to do : for I have already deter- 
mined to construct bridges connecting this continent 
with the other, and so to invade the Scythians : and I 
shall very shortly put my plan in execution." Atossa thus 
replied — " Let alone this war with the Scythians at 
present; for whenever you please you may make them 
your subjects. But first lead your armies for me against 
Greece, for after what I have been told, I wish extremely 
to obtain waiting women from the Lacedaemonians, and 
the Argives, and from the people of Attica, and from the 
Corinthians. And now you have with you a man, than 
whom none can be better qualified to inform you of 
whatever relates to Greece ; or to be your guide there — - 
I mean the man who restored your foot." Darius an- 
answered — " Since you are of opinion, that we should 
make our first trial upon Greece, I think it will be most 
proper first of all to send some Persians as spies, and with 
them the man whom you mention, who making themselves 
acquainted with the affairs of Greece, may afterwards 
inform us of what they have learned ; and then, upon 
such information, we may set out to invade that country." 
Thus he spoke: and he no sooner spoke than acted; 
for at the very first dawn of day, summoning fifteen dis- 
tinguished Persians, he commanded them to place them- 
selves under the conduct of Democedes, and to pass 
throughout all the coasts of Greece ; yet taking care that 
he did not make his escape ; but by all means to bring 
him back with them. Having given them these instruc- 
tions, he next called for Democedes, whom he required to 
guide the Persians through Greece, exhibiting every 
thing to them ; and himself to return. He then com- 
manded him to take with him all his moveables, as 

(135) 



DEMOCEDES. 255 

presents to his father and brethren, promising to replace 
them by manifold gifts. Darius moreover said that, for 
the transport of these presents, a vessel should accompany 
them, charged with all kinds of riches. Nor do I believe 
that he had any sinister intention in making these pro- 
mises. But Democedes apprehending that Darius meant 
only to put him to the trial, and to see whether in taking 
his departure, he would accept whatever was offered 
him (as if not intending to return,) replied that he would 
leave at Susa all his effects, ready for him when he should 
return ; yet he said he would accept the merchant vessel 
which Darius had promised for the conveyance of the 
presents to his kinsmen. After severally receiving these 
instructions, the party was despatched by the king to the 
coast. 

Going down to Sidon in Phoenicia, they fitted out two 
triremes as well as a large merchant vessel, laden with 
precious commodities of all sorts. Every thing being 
provided, they sailed for Greece, and keeping near the 
land, they inspected the whole coast, making notes (or 
maps and draivings) of all they saw. When they had in- 
spected whatever was most remarkable, they proceeded 
to Tarentum in Italy. There Aristophilides, king of 
Tarentum, to gratify Democedes, removed the rudders of 
the Median ships, and detained the Persians as spies. 
Meanwhile Democedes made his way to Crotona, and 
when he had reached that place, Aristophilides set the 
Persians at liberty, and restored to them what he had 
detached from their vessels. 

The Persians quitting Tarentum, pursued Democedes 
to Crotona. Finding him in the public assembly, they 
laid hands on him. Some of the Crotonians, fearing the 
Persian power, were disposed to deliver him ; but others, 
opposing, struck the Persians with their staves, who then 
thus addressed the people — " Men of Crotona ! look well 
to what you are doing. — You are rescuing a man who is 
(137) 



256 ESCAPE OF DEMOCEDES. 

a run-away from the king. How think you king Darius- 
will bear to be thus aggrieved? Can it end well for 
you if you take the man from us 1 What city shall we 
sooner attack than your's ? What people shall we sooner 
reduce to slavery than you ?" Nor did this avail to 
move the Crotonians, who in fact rescued Democedes, 
and seized the transport which followed the Persians, 
who, thus deprived of their guide, returned to Asia, 
without exploring any further the coasts of Greece. As 
they took their departure, Democedes enjoined them to 
inform Darius that he was about to be united in marriage 
to the daughter of Milo. Now the name of Milo the 
wrestler was in high esteem with the king, and as it 
seems to me Democedes hastened this marriage by the 
efficacy of large sums of money, in order that he might 
appear to Darius a man of consequence in his own coun- 
try. The Persians proceeding on their voyage from Cro- 
tona, were cast away upon Japygia {Apulia) where they 
were made slaves, but presently redeemed by Gillus, an 
exile from Tarentum, who conducted them back to Darius, 
In reward for this service, the king professed his rea- 
diness to do for him whatever he wished. Gillus, after 
narrating his misfortunes, asked to be restored to Ta- 
rentum. And that he might not trouble Greece, which 
must happen, if on his account a large expedition 
were sent into Italy, he stated that the aid of the Cni- 
dians alone would suffice to effect his restoration. 
Thinking that, as these were on terms of amity with 
the people of Tarentum, they would more easily than 
others be able to procure his return. Darius assented 
to this proposal, and adopted measures accordingly ; 
for he sent a' messenger to Cnidos, commanding them to 
return Gillus to Tarentum. The Cnidians obeyed the 
injunction ; but the people of Tarentum would not 
yield to persuasion, and they were not in condition to 
compel submission by force. Such was the issue of this 

(138) 



SYLOSON. 257 



affair, which is related, because the Persians, above- 
mentioned, were the first persons who came from Asia 
with the express design of exploring- Greece. 



SECTION IX. 

STORY OF SYLOSON AND RUIN OF SAMOS. 

Not long afterwards Darius the king took Samos : 
this was the first place, either Grecian or barbarian, of 
which he made himself master. The occasion of the 
enterprize was as follows. — While Cambyses was with 
his army in Egypt, great numbers of Greeks frequented 
that country; — some, of course, for purposes of mer- 
chandize ; some, as being included in the army ; and some, 
merely to view the country. Of this class was Syloson, 
son of Ajax, brother of Polycrates, and an exile from 
Samos. Now it happened fortunately for this Syloson, 
that one day, as he was walking in a public square at 
Memphis, clad in a scarlet cloak, Darius who then was 
one of the body-guard of Cambyses, and a person of no 
great importance, chanced to see him, and conceiving a 
strong wish to possess the cloak, approached the wearer, 
and asked to purchase it. Syloson seeing Darius won- 
derfully smitten with the cloak, said — impelled by a 
divine impulse — " I will not sell it for any sum ; but if 
forsooth you must have it, I give it you." Darius ap- 
plauding his generosity, took the vest. Syloson, on his 
part, considered that he had lost it by a foolish easiness 
of temper. Time passed on — Cambyses died — The 
Mage was overthrown by the seven; — and of -the seven, 
(140) s 



258 SYLOSON. 

who should obtain the sovereign power but this very 
Darius ! 

When Syloson learned that the kingly dignity had 
devolved upon the man to whom, at his request, he had 
given his cloak some time before in Egypt, he repaired to 
Susa, and sat himself down upon the threshhold of the 
royal palace, and there professed that he was " the 
benefactor of Darius." The porter repeated this to the 
king, who wondering, said, "What Greek can have done 
me any service, and have earned my gratitude ? for I am 
but just invested with the regal power. Scarcely an 
individual of that nation — or not even one, has yet 
arrived at my court ; nor do I know myself to be in- 
debted to any Greek. Yet bring him in, that I may 
know what the man would have in saying this." The porter 
introduced Syloson, and as he stood in the midst, the 
interpreters asked him who he was, and what he had per- 
formed, which entitled him to call himself the king's 
benefactor. Syloson then related the whole story of the 
cloak, and affirmed that he it was who had given it. 
To this Darius replied — " Most generous of men ! are 
you indeed the person who, when I possessed no power, 
bestowed the gift which, though in itself inconsiderable, 
claims as much gratitude as the most important present 
given to me now 1 In return for this cloak, I will now 
bestow upon you such an amount of gold and silver, that 
you shall never need to repent having conferred a favour 
upon Darius, son of Hystaspes." — " O king," replied 
Syloson, " give me neither silver nor gold ; but save and 
give to me my country — Samos, of which, since Poly crates 
my brother was put to death by Orostes, a servant of 
ours has possessed himself. This give me without blood- 
shed — without reducing the people to slavery." 

In consequence of his representations, Darius des- 
patched a body of men under the command of Otanes — 
one of the seven, instructing him to fulfil in all things the 

(141) 



MyEANDRIUS. 259 

wishes of Syloson. Otanes went therefore to the coast, 
and there made preparation for embarking his forces. 
Samos was then governed by Mseandrius, son of Msean- 
drius, to whom Polycrates had entrusted the adminis- 
tration of affairs. This man, with the most upright 
intentions (or, wishing to seem eminently just) failed to 
accomplish his purpose. When the death of Polycrates 
was made known to him, he adopted the following mea- 
sures :• — first he reared an altar to Jupiter the Liberator, 
and traced around it the sacred inclosure which is now 
seen in the suburbs of the city. This done, he called an 
assembly of all the citizens, whom he thus addressed — " To 
me, as you well know, is committed the sceptre and entire 
power of Polycrates ; and nothing prevents my now exer- 
cising this authority over you. But what I condemn in a 
neighbour, that, as far as in me lies, I will avoid doing. 
For as 1 liked not to see Polycrates exercising despotic 
power over men who where his equals, neither can I 
endure that any one, whoever he may be, should do the 
like. Polycrates has met his fate ; and I lay down the 
supreme power, and proclaim to you — Equality. Yet I 
think it equitable to myself, that so much distinction as 
this should be granted me ; — that I should have six 
talents taken from the treasures' of Polycrates ; and more- 
over I would ask the priesthood for myself and posterity 
for ever, of Jupiter the Liberator, to whom I have con- 
secrated an altar, and under whose auspices I now invest 
you with liberty." Such was the proposition he made to 
the Samians. One of them rising up, said — " In truth 
you are unworthy to rule over us, being as you are a 
wicked and pestilent fellow. Fitter would it be that 
you should render an account of the treasures you have 
handled." This was spoken by Telesarchus, a citizen of 
reputation. 

Mseandrius now perceiving that if he were to lay down 
the authority he held, some one would rise up to become 
(143) s 2 



260 RUIN OF 

a tyrant in his room, no longer thought of relinquishing 1 
his power. Having retired to the acropolis (citadel) he 
summoned one and another on pretence of giving an 
account of the treasures ; but as they arrived, he seized 
and put them in irons. While they continued in prison 
Maeandrius was attacked with a disease, and his brother, 
named Lycaretus, supposing he would die, in order that 
he might the more readily possess himself of the govern- 
ment of .Samos, put all the prisoners to death : — or, as it 
is probable, they refused liberty (on the terms offered 
by Lycaretus.) 

When the Persians arrived at Samos, bringing with 
them Syloson, no one lifted a hand to oppose them, 
and the partisans of Maeandrius, and he himself, pro- 
fessed themselves ready to give their word that they 
would abandon the island. Otanes agreed to this pro- 
posal, and ratified the engagement. And a number of 
the most distinguished Persians, having caused seats to 
be placed for them, reposed at their ease, opposite to the 
acropolis. But Maeandrius had a brother named Cha- 
rilaus, scarcely sane, who, on account of some fault, was 
bound in the dungeon. He, having over-heard what had 
taken place ; and, by peeping through the chinks of the 
dungeon, having seen the Persians sitting carelessly, 
loudly demanded to be allowed to speak with Maeandrius, 
who, hearing his demand, ordered him to be released and 
brought before him. He was therefore brought up, and 
instantly began to reproach and upbraid his brother, and 
to urge him to fall upon the Persians. — " Most cowardly 
of men," said he ; " me, your own brother, who have 
committed against you no wrong worthy of bonds, you 
have adjudged to irons in the dungeon ; while you dare 
not avenge yourself upon these Persians, who so easily 
might be vanquished, when you see them ejecting you, 
and making you a homeless wanderer. But now if 
you are in dread of them, commit the auxiliaries to me, 

(145) 



SAMOS; 261 

and I will make them pay dearly for coming here ; and I 
am ready also to send you away from the island." 

Thus spoke Charilaus ; and Mseandrius gave his con- 
sent ; not, as it seems to me, that he was himself brought 
to such folly as to think that, with his forces, he could 
overcome those of the king ; but rather he grudged that 
Syloson should, without effort, obtain the city uninjured. 
By provoking the Persians, he wished to inflict the 
greatest possible damage upon the island; and that so 
enfeebled, the city might be surrendered ; — well knowing 
that if the Persians suffered any ill treatment, they 
would be exasperated against the Samians ; and knowing 
also, that he had for himself a safe way of escape from the 
island, whenever he pleased. For he had caused a 
secret passage to be dug from the acropolis to the sea. 
Maeandrius therefore sailed away from Samos. Mean- 
while Charilaus arming all the auxiliaries, and throwing 
open the gates, led them against the Persians, who thought 
of nothing of the kind, but supposed every thing to be 
amicably arranged. The auxiliaries making a sudden 
charge upon these Persian grandees,* killed them all. 
Presently the rest of the Persians came up to their 
aid, and pressed upon the auxiliaries until they were 
driven back, and obliged to take refuge in the citadel. 

Otanes, the general, seeing so great a calamity inflicted 
on the Persians, remembered to forget the commands 
given to him by Darius when he set out — to put none 
of the Samians to death, nor to make slaves of them, 
but to deliver the island" unhurt to Syloson: — disregard- 
ing these instructions, he gave orders to his forces to 
put to the sword all whom they found, whether old or 
young. Forthwith one part of the army laid siege to the 
acropolis, while the remainder killed every one they met, 

* SuppcxpopevnevovQ — persons accustomed to be borne in a sedan or 
litter. 

(147) S 3 



262 RUIN OF SAMOS. 

as well within as without the temples. Maeandrius 
escaping from Samos, sailed to Lacedsemon, where he 
arrived with the riches he had brought away. From 
among these treasures he selected vessels of gold and 
silver, which he delivered to his servants to be cleansed. 
While these articles were about, he went to converse 
with Cleomenes, son of Anaxandrides, king of Sparta, 
and brought him home. When Cleomenes beheld the 
goblets, he was struck with admiration and surprize, upon 
which Maeandrius besought him to take away whatever 
he pleased : — this request he repeated again and again ; 
but Cleomenes was a man of rare integrity, who did not 
deem it right even to accept a gift, and being informed 
that the stranger had made presents to several of the 
citizens, with the view of obtaining succours, he addressed 
himself to the Ephors, declaring that it would be better 
for Sparta if the Samian stranger left Peloponnesus — ■ 
" lest," said he, " he should persuade me or some other 
Spartan to do ill." They, in compliance with his advice, 
expelled Maeandrius by the public cryer from Sparta. 

The Persians having dragged Samos, as with a net, 
delivered the island to Syloson, utterly destitute of inha- 
bitants. But some time afterwards, Otanes the general 
being warned by a dream, and by a disease which attacked 
him, re-peopled the island. 



SECTION X. 

SECOND FALL OF BABYLON. 

While the Persian fleet was on its way to Samos, the 
Babylonians revolted, having already amply prepared 

(150) 



SIEGE OF BABYLON. 263 

themselves. For during the reign of the Mage, and 
after his overthrow by the seven conspirators, and while 
affairs were unsettled, they laid in provisions against a 
siege: these operations they contrived to conceal. But 
after their revolt was declared, they adopted the expe- 
dient of strangling all the women, excepting only their 
mothers, and one favourite wife for each man : — each 
man, I say, chose from his household one woman to pre- 
pare his food, all the rest they strangled, to save the 
consumption of provisions. As soon as Darius heard 
what had taken place, he assembled the whole of his 
forces, and marched against them, and reaching the city 
besieged it ; — a siege which the Babylonians treated with 
extreme indifference ; and going upon the top of their 
walls, they danced, and derided Darius and his army. 
One of them uttered this taunting speech — " Persians ! 
why sit you there ? why not go hence ? You shall make 
us captives when a mule shall have young !" The Baby- 
lonian who spoke this, believed that what he mentioned 
could never happen. 

One year and seven months had passed away, and 
Darius with his whole army fretted that they could not 
take the city. He had practised every stratagem, and em- 
ployed every machine of war without effect. Among 
other means which he tried, was that by which Cyrus 
had taken the city. But the Babylonians were most assi- 
duously on their guard; nor could he at all surprise 
them. In the twentieth month, a prodigy happened, 
which attracted the notice of Zopyrus, son of Megabysus, 
one of the seven conspirators against the Mage. — One 
of the sumpter mules brought forth young. Zopyrus not 
believing the report, went himself and saw the foal. He 
enjoined his servants to keep the matter secret, and then 
reflec ing on the occurrence, recollected the speech of 
the Babylonian who, at the commencement of the siege, 
had said that the place might be taken when a mule 
(153) s 4 



264 STRATAGEM OF 

should have young : he therefore concluded that Babylon 
was now pregnable ; for he deemed that the speech was 
inspired, and that the event which had just happened to 
himself was portentous. 

Believing therefore that Babylon was now fated to be 
taken, he went to Darius, and asked him if he viewed the 
capture of the city as a matter of high importance ; and 
being answered in the affirmative, he considered how he 
might be the person to take it, and how the exploit might 
be altogether his own ; — for among the Persians, those 
who achieve extraordinary actions for the good of their 
country, are held in the very highest honour. Now no 
other mode of accomplishing his object seemed practi- 
cable, but that of going over to the enemy in a state of 
disgraceful mutilation. Immediately, deeming as a trifle 
his own sufferings, he inflicted upon himself an irre- 
mediable mutilation; for he cut off his own nose and 
ears — shaved his locks, tore himself with whips, and thus 
presented himself before Darius. Darius seeing a man 
of rank thus ignominiously disfigured, was deeply 
affected, and starting from his throne, uttered an out- 
cry, inquiring who had thus deformed him, or why ? 
To this inquiry, \ Zopyrus replied — "There is no man 
except yourself who has power thus to treat me. Nor 
has any hand, O king, but my own done this. — Yes, I 
have done it, impatient that the Persians should be 
mocked by the Assyrians." — " Most wretched of men," 
replied the king, " to a most shameful deed you give a 
name of virtue, in professing that you have thus incurably 
injured yourself in spite against the besieged » Foolish 
man ! and how shall this ignominy, think you, bring 
the enemy into our power ? Have you lost your senses 
in thus destroying yourself?" 

" If," said Zopyrus, " I had communicated to you my 
purpose, you would not have suffered me to accomplish 
it. But now I have effected it on my own will ; and now, 

(155) 



zopyrus. 265 

unless you are wanting to your own interests, we shall 
take Babylon. For, just as I am, I will present myself 
at the walls, and say that it is by you I have been thus 
treated ; and I think that they, being convinced of the 
truth of what I affirm, will confer upon me a command. 
Do you then, on the tenth day after I shall have entered 
the walls, send forward a thousand men, such as you will 
least regret the loss of; and station them near the gate 
of Semiramis. Then again, seven days after that, send 
me two thousand men to the gate of Ninus. After that, 
let twenty days elapse, and then lead other four thousand 
to the gate of the Chaldseans, and station them there ; 
but let neither these nor the first bands have any other 
weapons than their swords. After that day — the twen- 
tieth from the last, let the rest of the army invest the 
wall on all sides ; but place the Persians for me at the 
Belidian and the Cissian gates. As I think, after I have 
performed several signal exploits, the Babylonians will 
entrust every thing to me, even the keys of the gates. 
And then it will be for us to act our parts." 

Having given these instructions, Zopyrus went to the 
gates, where he paced up and down, as if he were indeed 
a deserter. Those who were stationed on the turrets 
seeing him, quickly descended, and having slid aside the 
wicket a little space, they demanded who he wa , rad for 
what purpose he came. He declared himself to be 
Zopyrus, and said that he came over to them as a de- 
serter. The porters hearing this, admitted Mm, 
brought him into the assembly of the people : the-" stand- 
ing before them, he deplored his miseries, and sa ; d that it 
was from Darius he had suffered the injuries which, in 
fact, he had inflicted on himself; and that he had under- 
gone this punishment because he had advised him to rahv 
the siege, seeing that no means of taking the city pre- 
sented themselves. " And now," continued he, "I come 
to you Babylonians with the best good will for youi 
(156) 



266 CAPTURE OF 

-vice, and for the greatest damage to Darius and the 
Persian army. Nor shall he who has thus ignominiously 
branded me, escape with impunity. — I am well acquainted 
with all his projects." 

The Babylonians seeing a man so distinguished among 
the Persians deprived of his nose and ears, and with his 
clothes stained with blood from his stripes, confidently 
relied on the truth of his assertions, and believed that he 
came over to them as an ally. They were therefore dis- 
posed to grant him his request, which was, that he might 
command a band of men. Having received this com- 
mand, he did as he had concerted with Darius ; for on the 
tenth day he led forth the Babylonian troops, and sur- 
rounding the first thousand men whom Darius had sta- 
tioned, he put them all to the sword. 

The Babylonians then perceiving that his conduct cor- 
responded with his professions, and being greatly elated 
with joy, were ready to place themselves altogether at his 
disposal. He, waiting the expiration of the appointed 
days, again led forth a chosen body of Babylonians, and 
slaughtered the two thousand men sent out by Darius. 
After this exploit, the mouths of the Babylonians were 
filled with the praises of Zopyrus. He again waiting the 
appointed time, conducted the troops under his command 
to «h olace agreed upon, and surrounding the four thou- 
sand Persians, put them to the sword. Upon this new 
success, Zopyrus became every thing to the Babylonians — 
was constituted commander-in-chief; and entrusted with 
the guardianship of the wall. 

At length, when according to their agreement, Darius 
madtt an assault on all sides, Zopyrus manifested the fraud 
he had practised ; for while the Babylonians ascending 
the waJls prepared to repel the attack of Darius, Zopy- 
rus, throwing open the Cissian and Belidian gates, led 
the Persians within the walls. The Babylonians who 
witnessed what was done, fled to the temple of Jupiter 

(158) 



BABYLON. 267 

Belus, while those who knew nothing of it, remained 
severally at the posts where they were stationed, until 
they also learned that they were betrayed. Thus the 
second time was Babylon taken. 

When Darius had made himself master of the city, he 
destroyed the walls, and tore away all the gates, which 
Cyrus, on a similar occasion had not done. Moreover, he 
empaled nearly ,three thousand of the principal citizens ; 
but he allowed the others to inhabit the place ; and, to 
supply them with wives — for, as we have already men- 
tioned, they had strangled their women to spare pro- 
visions — he commanded the people of the surrounding 
country to send each a stipulated number of women to 
Babylon. In this way 50,000 women were obtained, from 
whom the present inhabitants of the city are descended. 

In the judgment of Darius, no Persian of any age, 
ancient or modern, deserved more the gratitude of his 
country than Zopyrus ; — excepting always Cyrus, with 
whom no Persian has ever ventured to compare himself. 
Darius is reported frequently to have uttered the sentiment, 
that he had rather Zopyrus should not have suffered so 
ignominious a mutilation, than acquire twenty Babylons. 
He held him in the highest honour, and every year 
bestowed upon him such gifts as are most esteemed among 
the Persians, and he assigned to him for life the reve- 
nues of Babylon, besides many other advantages. It was 
the son of this Zopyrus, named Megabysus, who fought 
the Athenians and their allies in Egypt ; and Zopyrus, 
a son of that Megabysus, deserted from the Persians and 
came to Athens. 






(160) 



BOOK IV. 



MELPOMENE. 



SECTION I. 



THE SCYTHIAN NATIONS. 



After the capture of Babylon, Darius undertook an 
expedition against the Scythians. For as Asia was 
prolific in men, and yielded to him a vast influx of money, 
he indulged the wish to avenge upon that people the 
ancient wrong they had committed in invading the 
Median territory, and overthrowing their opposers. As 
I have before said, (p. 50,) they ruled the upper Asia 
during eight-and-twenty years, when in pursuing the 
Cimmerians, they made an inroad upon Asia, and over- 
threw the empire of the Medes, who before the arrival 
of the. Scythians, had held the sovereignty of Asia. The 
Scythians, when, after being absent from their homes 
so long a time as eight-and-twenty years, they re- 
turned, encountered difficulties not less than they had 
met in Media. For they found themselves opposed 
by an army far from inconsiderable. This army con- 
sisted of the sons of the women they had left in Scythia, 
and of their slaves. 

[The Scythians drink milk, and all the slaves who attend to 
the business of milking, are deprived of sight. Two slaves are 
employed together ; for while one milks the mare, the other 

(2) 



THE SCYTHIANS. 269 

by tubes formed of bones, causes an inflation of the udder : 
this process, as they think, increases the quantity of milk.* 
When they have obtained the milk, they pour it into deep 
hollow bowls. The blind slaves are then stationed around 
these bowls, and give a whirling motion to the milk. That 
which swims on the surface they remove, deeming it the 
choicest part: while that which subsides, is accounted of less 
value. It is for performing this operation, that the Scythians 
put out the eyes of all the prisoners they take in war. And 
they are not agriculturists, but feeders of cattle. f 

From these slaves, and from the Scythian women, a new 
race had arisen. And these youths, aware of their origin, 
opposed those who were returniug from Media. The first 
step they took, was to intercept the territory they occupied, by 
digging a wide trench, stretching from mount Taurus to the 
Palus Maeotis, which is of great extent. Then they sta- 
tioned themselves, so as to oppose by arms the attempts of 
the returning Scythians to enter the country. Many battles 
were fought. At length, as no advantage was gained by those 
who returned, one of them thus proposed his advice :— 
" Scythians! what are we doing? — We are fighting with 
our slaves, and must either suffer the diminution of our own 
numbers at their hands, or, with our own hands diminish the 
numbers of those who should serve us. Now therefore it 
seems to me that, laying aside our spears and bows, we 
should each take his horsewhip, and so approach them. For 
so long as they see us bearing arms, they will think themselves 
to be of like nature, and like origin with us ; but when they 
behold us armed only with whips, they will learn that they 
are slaves ; and conscious of inferiority they will not abide our 
attack." The Scythians adopted this advice, and the youths, 
smitten at heart, no longer thought of fighting, but fled. 
Such was the mode in which the Scythians, after they had 

* • • • • tovtovq EvSevTee eg tu)v SrjXewv iiTiTtov ra apBpa 
tyvaioai TOtat OTOfjiacn .... The Arabs practise a similar method. 

t Therefore, the preparation of butter and cheese is the principal 
labour in their economy. 

(4) 



270 FABULOUS HISTORY OF 

ruled Asia, and were expelled by the Medes, returned to their 
native regions. And it was to avenge this (ancient) invasion 
that Darius collected a force to attack them. 

The Scythians, according to their own account, are the most 
recent of all people. They say that the first man who ap- 
peared in their land — heretofore a wilderness, was named 
Targitaus, whose parents, as they afiirm — though for my own 
part, I give the story no credit, were Jupiter and a daughter of 
the river Borysthenes ; — such was the extraction of Targitaus. 
He had three sons, named Lipoxa'is, Arpoxai's, and the 
youngest, Colaxais. During the reign of these, there descended 
in Scythia from heaven, a plow, a yoke, an axe, and a goblet 
of gold. The eldest of the three was the first to see them. 
As he approached, intending to take them, the gold, just as 
he drew nigh, became fervent. He withdrew, and the second 
came up. Again, the same event took place ; and both were 
thus repulsed by the burning gold. Last came the youngest, 
and when he approached the fire was quenched, and he car- 
ried the articles home with him. The others reflecting upon 
this occurrence, yielded the supreme authority undivided to 
their younger brother. From Lipoxa'is, as they say, are 
descended that family of Scythians, called Auchates : — from 
Arpoxai's, the middle brother, sprung those called Catiarians 
and Traspians ; and from the youngest, the royal race, called 
Paralates. The name Scolotians, derived from the sirname 
of their king, is the common appellation of all whom the 
Greeks call Scythians. 

Such, according to their own account, is the origin of this 
people ; and they reckon the whole number of years from their 
first king Targitaus, to the time of the invasion by Darius, to 
be neither more nor fewer than a thousand. The sacred gold 
is preserved by the kings with the greatest care ; and once 
in every year each brings it home, and celebrates great pro- 
pitiatory sacrifices to it. The Scythians afiirm that if he who 
has this sacred gold sleeps in the open air during the festival 
he will not survive the year : on which account they confer 
upon him as much land as he can ride round in one day. 
His domain being very extensive, Colaxais is said to have 

(7) 



THE SCYTHIANS. 271 

erected three kingdoms for his three sons. One of these divi- 
sions was larger than the other two ; and in this the gold is 
preserved. The region which lies towards the north, above 
the extremest inhabited districts, are such that neither the 
sight can penetrate into them, nor can they be passed through ; 
this difficulty is occasioned by the suffusion of feathers ; for 
with feathers (snow) the whole land is covered, and the whole 
air filled ; and it is these which intercept the sight. This is 
the account given of themselves, and of the regions beyond 
them, by the Scythians. But the Greeks who inhabit the 
shores of the Euxine, affirm that Hercules, when he drove 
away the herds of Geryon, arrived in this country, which was 
then a desert, and which now the Scythians occupy. Geryon, 
they say, lived in an island without the Euxine, called by the 
Greeks the Red island, and which is near Gades, in the 
ocean beyond the pillars of Hercules. — The ocean, they say — 
but they are not able to give proof of their assertions, com- 
mences from the regions where the sun rises, and runs round 
the whole earth.* — Thence Hercules arrived in the region now 
called Scythia; there the wintry cold seized him, and he, 
drawing his lion's skin about him, fell asleep : meanwhile his 
mares, which he had loosened from his chariot to feed, dis- 
appeared by a divine chance. 

When Hercules awoke, he made search for his mares ; and, 
after passing through the whole region, arrived at length in 
the land called Hylaea. There, in a cave, he discovered a 
certain monstrous viper, having two natures; for, from the 
loins upwards, its form was that of a woman ; while the lower 
part was serpent-like. After admiring for a while this mon- 
ster, he inquired of her if she had any where seen his strayed 
mares. She replied that she herself had them; nor would 
yield them up, unless he remained with her. To obtain them, 
he rested awhile at her request ; but she still deferred surren- 

* Our author evidently supposed Ocean to be the name of a river. 
See p. 113. This misconception prevented his deriving a just inference 
from the many facts he had learned relative to unbounded seas beyond 
Asia, Africa, and Europe. 

(9) 



272 HISTORY OF THE SCYTHIANS. 

dering the mares, in order to prolong his stay. At length, as 
he desired to get them and be gone, she restored them with 
these words — " Your mares came here ; — I have kept them 
for you ; — you have redeemed them. But now tell me, what 
shall I do with my three sons ? Shall I establish them in 
this land, of which I am absolute sovereign ; or shall I send 
them to you." "When," replied Hercules, "they have 
attained man's estate, if you do as I direct, you will not err : 
him among them whom you shall see able thus to bend this 
bow, and to gird himself with this girdle, establish in your land ; 
and him who shall fail to do what I say, send out of the 
country. Thus acting, you will please yourself and me also." 
He then drew out one of his bows — for he then carried two, 
which he gave her, and the girdle — exhibiting its use — 
together with a golden cup attached to the knot ; he then 
took his departure. When the youths arrived at man's estate, 
she named them; — the first, Apathyrsus, the second Gelon, 
the youngest Scythes ; and mindful of the commands she had 
received from Hercules, she followed his instructions. The 
first two, Apathyrsus and Gelon, being unequal to the pre- 
scribed effort, were expelled from the country by their mother. 
But the youngest, Scythes, having accomplished it, remained 
there. And from him all the Scythian kings derive their 
origin, and even to the present day the Scythians wear cups 
suspended at their girdles, in imitation of that cup which his 
mother provided for Scythes. Such is the story told by the 
Euxine Greeks. 

There is also another account to which I myself rather 
incline. The Nomadic Scythians, it is said, who dwell in 
Asia, being pressed in war by the Massagetes, passed the river 
Araxes, and entered Cimmeria. For the tract in which now 
the Scythians feed their flocks was formerly so named. The 
Cimmerians, when the Scythians appeared invading them with 
a vast army, held a council in which two opposite opinions 
were maintained, and both very strenuously: that of the 
kings (nobility) was the best. For while the common people 
thought that nothing could be done but retire from the coun- 
try, and wished not to hazard opposition to such numbers ; 

(11) 



CIMMERIANS. 273 

the kings were for defending- their country against the in- 
vaders. Nor would the people yield to the persuasions of 
the kings, nor the kings to the voice of the people, who deter- 
mined to retire and concede their lands to the invading army 
without a struggle. But the kings thought good rather to fall 
and die upon their own possessions, than to flee with the 
people ; for they weighed the advantages they had hitherto 
enjoyed against the ills that probably awaited them in aban- 
doning their country. Such was the resolution formed on 
both sides ; and being equal in numbers, the two parties 
fought; (or — an equal number on both sides engaged in a 
combat to decide the question) when the party of the kings 
was vanquished by that of the people, and the slain were 
interred by the Cimmerian commonality near the river Tyras, 
where their sepulchre (tumulus) is yet to be seen. After per- 
forming the rites of burial, they took their departure, and 
the Scythians coming up, possessed themselves of the deserted 
country. 

At the present day, there are in Scythia — a Cimmerian 
town — the Cimmerian Porthmia, (passages,) and a district 
which bears the name Cimmeria. The Bosphorus is also 
called the Cimmerian. It seems that these people, driven by 
the Scythians into Asia, established themselves in the penin- 
sular, where the Greeks founded the city Synope. And it is 
known that the Scythians in following them, missed their way 
when they invaded the Median territory : for the Cimmerians, 
in their flight, proceeded constantly by the sea-side ; but the 
Scythians, in the pursuit, had Caucasus on their right ; and 
then turning towards the midland, poured in upon Media. 
This last account is received in common by Greeks and Bar- 
barians. 

But Aristeas of Proconnesus, son of Caustrobius, in his 
epic verses, says that, impelled by Phoebus, he had visited 
the Issedones, and that beyond the Issedones dwell the 
Arimaspians— a one-eyed nation; and beyond them the gold- 
guarding Grypes; and then the Hyperboreans, bordering 
upon the sea ; and that all these, excepting the Hyperboreans, 
and commencing with the Arimaspians, have constantly 
(13) T 



274 ARISTEAS. 

encroached upon their neighbours. And that the Issedones 
have been expelled from their lands by the Arimaspians, and 
the Scythians by the Issedones ; while the Cimmerians, inha- 
biting the shores of the southern sea,* pressed by the Scy- 
thians, left their country. But in this account the poet does 
not accord with the Scythians themselves. Of what country 
Aristeas, author of these verses, was, I have said. I will 
now relate what I heard concerning him in Proconnesus and 
Cyzicus. Aristeas, they say — by birth not inferior to any of 
the citizens — entering the shop of a fuller, died there : the 
fuller closing his shop, went to announce the fact to the rela- 
tives of the deceased : — the report of the death of Aristeas 
had already pervaded the city, and had occasioned disputes 
between those who affirmed it, and a man of Cyzicus, who had 
come from Artaces, and who said that he had happened to 
meet and converse with the poet on his way to Cyzicus. 
While he vehemently affirmed this, the relatives of the de- 
ceased presented themselves at the fuller's shop, with a bier, 
to take the body away ; but on opening the dwelling, they 
found no Aristeas — dead or living. After the lapse of seven 
years, he made his appearance in Proponnesus, and composed 
the poems which now are called by his name among the 
Greeks. Having finished these poems, he disappeared a 
second time. Such is the story current in these cities. 

But what I am about to mention, I know happened to the 
Metapontines in Italy, three hundred and forty years after the 
second disappearance of Aristeas ; for thus I calculate the 
time, comparing together what I heard at Proconnesus and at 
Metapontus. The Metapontines affirm that Aristeas himself 
visited their country, and appeared to them, commanding them 
to consecrate an altar to Apollo, and to place near it a statue 
inscribed with the name — Aristeas of Proconnesus : — that he 
said it was to them alone, of all the Italiotes that Apollo 
came ; — that he who now was Aristeas had then attended him 
as a crow : — after saying this, he disappeared. The Meta- 
pontines add, that when they sent to Delphi to inquire 

* The Euxine— a southern sea to the Scythians. 

(15) 



SCYTHIAN NATIONS. 275 

of the god what that spectre might be, the Pythian com- 
manded them to obey the dictates of the spectre, which should 
issue to their benefit. They accordingly had fulfilled the 
injunctions. And there is now to be seen a statue — bearing 
the name of Aristeas, near the image of Apollo, and it is 
wont to be encircled with laurel. This statue is placed in 
the public square. So much for Aristeas. 



SECTION II. 



SCYTHIAN NATIONS. 



Of the regions which lie beyond the country I have under- 
taken to describe, no one possesses any exact knowledge. 
At least I have never been able to find one who professed to 
have seen them. For not even Aristeas of whom I have just 
spoken, affirms himself in his poems to have gone beyond the 
Issedones, and of the regions beyond, he speaks on the authority 
of the Issedones. We shall now state all we have learned, 
on certain information, after having made the most extensive 
inquiries in our power. 

Commencing from the port of the Borysthenians, which is 
situated very nearly in the centre of the maritime borders of 
Scythia, the first people met with are the Callipides, who are 
Greco-Scythians. Beyond them is a nation called Alazones. 
These and the Callipides, in other respects, follow the usages of 
the Scythians ; but they sow and subsist upon corn, and cultivate 
onions, and garlick, and lentils, and millet. Above the 
Alazones dwell the agricultural Scythians, who raise corn, 
not for their own use, but for sale. Beyond these are the 
Neurians, the regions north of whom are, to the best of our 
knowledge, uninhabited. These are the nations occupying 
the course of the river Hypanis, and on the western side of the 
Borysthenes {filling the space between those rivers.) 
(17) T 2 



276 SCYTHIAN NATIONS. 

Passing over the Borysthenes, one first enters Hylaea, 
which lies on the sea coast (of the Euxine.) Ascending he- 
yond Hylaea, you find those agricultural Scythians, whom the 
Greek settlers by the river Hypanis call Borysthenians : 
but they call themselves Olbiopolitans. The district occupied 
by this nation extends eastward, three days' journey, as far as 
the river Panticapes, and northwards, eleven days' passage 
on the Borysthenes. To a great distance beyond this tract, 
the country is uninhabited. When those deserts are passed, 
the Androphagians (canibals) are found ; they are a distinct 
people, not of the Scythian race; and all beyond them is 
indeed a desert, in which, as far as we know, not any human 
tribes are found. Eastward of the agricultural Scythians, and 
on the farther side of the river Pantacapes, dwell the Nomadic 
Scythians, who neither sow nor turn the soil. All this region, 
excepting Hylsea, is destitute of trees; it extends eastward 
fourteen days' journey, as far as the river Gerrhus. 

Beyond the Gerrhus is the country of the royal Scythians — 
the most valiant and the most numerous of the Scythian race, 
and who deem the other tribes to be their slaves : their pos- 
sessions extend southward, as far as Taurica (the Crimea :) 
towards the east, they reach as far as the trench dug by the 
sons of the blind slaves, and to the commercial port on the 
Palus Maeotis, called Cremnis. They have possessions also 
as far as the Tana'is. Northward, above the royal Scythians, 
dwell the Melanchlaeans — a people distinct from the Scythians. 
Beyond these, nothing is known but marshes and uninhabited 
deserts. After passing the river Tana'is, you are no longer in 
Seythia. The first portion of this region belongs to the Sau- 
romates, who, commencing at the furthest recess of the Maeotic 
gulph, possess an extent of country reaching northward fifteen 
days' journey :— it is every where destitute of trees, both wild 
and cultivated. The second division belongs to the Budians, 
and is every where thickly covered with forests. A desert of 
seven days' journey bounds the Budians towards the north. 
After passing the desert, if you turn somewhat towards the 
east, you find the Thyssagetes — a numerous and distinct peo- 
ple, who subsist by the chace. Near to them, and indeed 

(22) 



ARGIPP/EANS. 277 

within the same region, there is a people called Jyrces, who 
also live by hunting, which they practise in the following 
manner :— The huntsman ascends a tree to watch his prey ; — 
the whole country being woody. He has a horse, which is trained 
to crouch on his belly as low as possible, and a dog also. 
When therefore he spies game from the tree, he lets fly an 
arrow — descends upon his horse, and pursues with his dog, 
which secures the animal. Beyond these, and towards the 
east, is found a secession from the Royal Scythians, who have 
removed so far from home; 

All the country hitherto mentioned, as far as the seceding 
Scythians, is level and fertile : but beyond it, the surface is 
stony and rugged. After travelling over a great extent of 
this rude wilderness, you arrive at the foot of lofty mountains, 
occupied by a nation said to be bald — women as well as men, 
by nature : they have flat noses and broad chins, and speak a 
language peculiar to themselves ; their dress is Scythian, 
they subsist on the fruit of a tree named ponticus, about the 
size of a fig tree : the fruit it bears, is of the bigness of a bean, 
and contains a stone. When ripe they press and strain it 
through a cloth : the juice which runs from it is thick and 
black, and is called aschy. This liquor they suck, or drink, 
mixed with milk. The dregs have consistency enough to be 
formed into cakes, which are eaten. They possess but few 
cattle, their pastures not being highly productive. Every 
man lives under a tree ; and when winter arrives, he forms a 
shelter by stretching over it a thick white woollen cloth, 
which, during the summer, they remove. These people are 
injured by none, for they are accounted sacred ; nor do they 
possess any weapon of war. Moreover they -act as arbiters 
between their neighbours; and he who takes refuge among 
them is inviolable. These people are called Argippgeans. 

Thus far these regions and the people who occupy them are 
well known ; for they are visited by some of the Scythians 
from whom information concerning them is easily obtained, as 
well as from the Greeks of the Borysthenic and other ports of 
the Euxine. , The Scythians, who travel as far as the bald 
Argippyeans, require the aid of interpreters of seven languages 
(24) T 3 



278 ISSEDONES. 

in the course of their journey. So far then is known ; but 
beyond the bald nation, certain information does not extend ; 
for they are bounded by lofty, abrupt, and trackless moun- 
tains which no one has passed over. The Argippaeans affirm, 
but I think with no appearance of truth, that these heights are 
occupied by goat-footed men, and that beyond them is a peo- 
ple who sleep six months of the year : — Of all this I credit not 
a word.* The country eastward of the bald nation is well 
known to be inhabited by the Issedones ; but the region north 
of these, like that above the Argippaeans, is not known to either 
people, excepting the reports just mentioned. 

The Issedones are said to practise the following customs : — 
When a man's father dies, all the relatives bring cattle ; 
which they slaughter, and cut up the flesh along with that of 
their host's deceased parent; and mingling all the flesh together, 
feast upon it. From the skull, they remove the hair, inte- 
guments, and contents, and then gild it. After which, it is 
used in their grand annual festivals, as a consecrated cup, when, 
like the Greeks, the son celebrates the anniversary of his 
father's death. These people also are accounted just, and 
among them the women exercise equal authority with the men. 
The Issedones are well known ; but they affirm that beyond 
them are a one-eyed race of men, and the gold-guarding 
griffins : at least, such is the report derived from them by the 
Scythians, from whom we have received it ; yet they give to 
these people a name of Scythian origin — Arimaspous ; for 
in the Scythian language Arima means one, and spou — eye. 

Throughout the region of which I have just spoken, the 
winter is extremely severe, and during eight months of the 
year the cold is insupportable ; so much so, that water poured 
upon the ground does not at all penetrate, unless near a fire. 
Even the sea congeals, and the Cimmerian Bosphorus becomes 

* Herodotus is not seldom credulous, where he might well have been 
more cautious ; and sometimes he utterly rejects what needed only to be 
separated from the phraseology of exaggeration. The modern reader will 
easily recognize in the goat-footed nation, the wearers of snow shoes; — 
and in the nation sleeping six months, the arctics wlio pass their long 
and day-less winter underground. 

(28) 



CLIMATE OF gCYTHIA. 279 

one solid mass, so that the Scythians who live on this side the 
trench, lead their armies and drive their chariots over it to 
invade the lands of the Sindians. The severe frost continues 
eight months, and even during the remaining four the cold is 
considerable. Indeed, the winter in these regions is alto- 
gether unlike that of any other country, for in that season the 
rain is scarcely worth mentioning ; but during the summer 
it rains without intermission. Thunder is not heard there at 
the time of the year when it is most common in other climates ; 
but in summer is frequent. If it happens in winter, the people 
in amazement deem it portentous. And thus also an earth- 
quake, whether in summer or winter, is thought portentous 
by the Scythians. The horse endures the cold of the climate : 
which neither the mule nor the ass can support; yet in other 
countries, if the horse is exposed to frost he perishes, while 
the ass and the mule bear the cold. I am of opinion that it 
is the cold which prevents the cattle in Scythia from having 
horns ; and in this opinion I am confirmed by a line of Ho- 
mer in the Odyssey : — 

" Libya, whose rams put forth their sudden horns." 

This is well said, because in hot climates horns grow early ; 
while in countries where the cold is severe, the cattle either 
have no horns at all, or produce them tardily; and I think 
the cold is the reason of the difference. But now — for my 
manner from the commencement of this work has been to 
pursue digressions — I wonder from what cause it is that in 
Elia, though the cold is not extreme, and though no visible 
impediment exists, mules cannot be bred. The Elians them- 
selves affirm that this happens in consequence of a curse 
which obliges them to breed all the mules they have need of 
in the neighbouring districts. 

As to the feathers which the Scythians affirm fill the air, 
and prevent the region where they fall from being either seen 
or traversed — my opinion is that, in those remote countries 
snow falls perpetually — less of course in the summer than 
in the winter. Now whoever has seen snow fall in thick 
(31) t 4 



280 HYPERBOREANS. 

flakes, will comprehend my meaning ; for it very much resem- 
bles feathers. And I think also that it is from the severity 
of the winter, that the northern parts of the continent are 
uninhabitable, and that when the Scythians and their neigh- 
bours talk of feathers {rendering those regions impassable) they 
only use figurative language. Such are the accounts given of 
these distant countries. 

Concerning the Hyperboreans, neither the Scythians nor 
any other people of those parts, unless it be the Issedones, say 
any thing. Nor do I believe that even they make mention 
of such, though, according to the Scythians, they talk of a 
one-eyed nation. Yet Hesiod says something of the Hyper- 
boreans ; as also does Homer, if indeed the poems called 
Epigones are his. The Delians speak of them much more 
at large. They say that the consecrated gifts enveloped in 
wheat straw, were brought from the Hyperboreans, and came 
among the Scythians ; from them they passed on continually, 
being received in succession by each bordering people, till they 
had traversed to the remotest west, even as far as the Adriatic : 
thence they were sent forwards towards the south, and were 
received by the Dodonaeans — first of the Greeks ; from them 
they descended to the Melian gulph ; and from thence passed 
over to Euboea. From city to city they were sent on, as far 
as Carystus : thence, leaving Andros untouched, the Carys- 
tians, who were the bearers, took them to Tenos; and the 
Tenians to Delos. Thus it was, say they, these sacred articles 
came to Delos. The Hyperboreans, as the Delians affirm, 
first sent their gifts by two damsels, named, as they say, Hy- 
peroche and Laodice : and with them, for safety sake, the 
Hyperboreans sent five of their citizens as attendants ; these 
are now called Perpheres, and are held in high honour at 
Delos. But when these failed to return to their homes, the 
Hyperboreans, deeply grieving to find that their messengers 
did not again make their appearance, thenceforward bore their 
offerings, wrapped in wheat straw, to their frontiers, and 
entrusting them to their next neighbours, enjoined them to 
pass the gifts forward to the next nation; and so to be 
conveyed till they arrived, as it is said, at Delos. I have 

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HYPERBOREANS. 281 

myself seen something which might remind one of the trans- 
mission of these sacred gifts ; I mean what is practised by the 
women of Thrace and Paeonia ; — when they sacrifice to the royal 
Diana, they fail not to enclose the offering in wheat straw : — 
these observances I have witnessed. 

In commemoration of the Hyperborean damsels who died 
at Delos, the youth of that island — both lads and lasses, shear 
their tresses : and the latter, before marriage, cutting off a 
plait of hair, twist it round a reed, and place it upon the 
sepulchre : — the sepulchre is within the temple of Diana, on 
the left hand as you enter, and near it has sprung up an olive 
tree. The Delian young men 4 also, twisting locks of their hair 
about some plant, deposit them in like manner on the tomb. 
Such is the honour conferred upon these damsels by the 
Delians. They likewise affirm that, even before the arrival 
of Hyperoche and Laodice, two Hyperborean virgins, named 
Arge and Opis, traversing the same nations, came to Delos. 
These brought to Ilithyna (Lucina) the appointed tribute 
for speedy delivery. But Arge and Opis, they say, arrived 
in company with the very gods ; wherefore they attribute to 
them honours of a different kind : for the women collect lar- 
gesses for them; — invoking their names in the hymn which 
Olen the Lycian composed for them. And, taught by the 
Delians, the islanders and the Ionians have learned to celebrate 
in song Opis and Arge — to invoke their names, and to collect 
largesses for them. It is this Olen who, coming from Lycia, 
composed the other ancient songs which are sung in Delos. 
When the legs of the victims have been consumed on the 
altar, all the ashes are strewed on the sepulchre of Opis and 
Arge. This tomb is behind the temple of Diana, towards the 
east, and near the banquetting hall of the Ceians. 

So much for the Hyperboreans. For I shall not relate 
what is reported concerning Abaris, who they say was a 
Hyperborean, and who, without eating, traversed all the earth; 
bearing an arrow (or, borne upon an arrow.) — If in truth 
there are Hyperboreans ; there ought to be Hypernotians also.* 

* Hyperboreans— men above or beyond the north. Hypernotians— 

(36) 



282 GEOGRAPHY 

For ray own part, 1 cannot but smile when I see many persons 
who, without intelligence in such matters for their guide, 
draw maps of the circumference of the earth. For they trace 
the (river) Ocean running round the circuit of the earth, and 
the earth itself they make circular, as if it had been turned in 
a lathe. Moreover they make Asia equal to Europe. Very 
briefly I will display the magnitude of each of them, as well 
as their figure severally. 



SECTION III. 

GEOGRAPHY OF THE THREE CONTINENTS. 

The Persians occupy the region which extends to the 
southern sea, called the Erythraean. Above these, towards the 
north, are the Medes. Above the Medes the Saspires ; be- 
yond them the Colchians, who inhabit the shores of the nor- 
thern sea (the JSuxine) into which the Phasis discharges 
itself. These four nations occupy the space between the two 
seas. 

From this tract turning westward, two irregularly shaped 
tracts of land stretch out, each being surrounded by the sea, as 

men beyond the south. Our author's meaning in the words which 
follow has been much disputed. Some interpreters have too hastily sup- 
posed that Herodotus here states as ridiculous the idea of the earth's 
rotundity: but the phrase he employs does not bear that sense — 
zovaav (rrjy yr]v) KvKXorepsa tog ano ropvov. This must not be ren- 
dered < round as a ball.' In our author's time many rude maps were 
extant in which, as appears from several allusions, Greece was made 
the centre of an even circle, formed by the river Ocean. In order to bring 
the several regions of the earth within this regular boundary, Europe 
was made no larger than Asia ; whereas, in the opinion of Herodotus, it 
extended an unlimited distance north and west : for he does not 
credit the accounts of a northern sea. 

(38) 



OF THE CONTINENTS. 283 

I shall describe. The first of these tracts (Asia Minor) on the 
northern side, commences at the river Phasis, and stretches a 
line of coast along the Euxine and the Hellespont, as far as 
(the promontory) Sigeum of Troas. On the south, the same 
track, commencing at the Myriandrian Gulph, which lies hard 
by Phoenicia, extends its line of coast as far as the Triopian 
promontory. Within this space thirty nations are included. 
Such then is the first of these tracts. 

The other begins at the borders of Persia, and extends along 
the Erythraean Sea. It comprehends Persia, then Assyria, 
then Arabia. It terminates, by an artificial boundary only, 
at the Arabian Gulph, where Darius led a trench into it from 
the Nile. But now between Persia and Phoenicia, there lies 
a wide and various country. From Phoenicia the same tract 
extends along the shores of this sea (the Mediterranean) in- 
cluding Syria and Palestine and Egypt, where it terminates ; 
and it comprehends only three nations. These then are the 
parts of Asia which lie westward of Persia. 

The regions eastward of the Persians, Medes, Saspires, and 
, Colchians, on one side (the south) are bounded by the Ery- 
thraean Sea, and on the north by the Caspian and the Araxes, 
which runs towards the east. Asia is inhabited as far as In- 
dia, beyond which country, eastward, all is a desert, the extent 
of which is known to no man. Such is the figure and extent 
of Asia. 

Libya is comprised within another and a distinct tract; it 
commences from the borders of Egypt : — the Egyptian boun- 
dary of this tract is very narrow, for the distance from our sea 
to the Erythraean is not more than 100,000 fathoms, or about 
1,000 furlongs. But from this narrow neck it becomes of vast 
extent, and then receives the name — Libya. 

I wonder at those who divide and lay down the boundaries 
of Libya, Asia, and Europe, as if the difference between them 
were not very great. For while in length, Europe extends 
along both, no comparison can be formed by which to estimate 
their relative width.* Libya declares itself to be circum- 

* Larcher and Beloe translate this passage as if Herodotus intended to 
(42) 



284 CIRCUMNAVIGATION 

navigable, except where it is bounded by Asia. The first 
person known to have proved this, was Necho, king of Egypt. 
When he ceased to carry on the canal leading from the Nile to 
the Arabian Gulph, he sent out some Phoenicians, instructing 
them to sail round by the Pillars of Hercules (straits of Gibral- 
tar) to the northern sea (the Mediterranean) and so to return to 
Egypt. These Phoenicians therefore, parting from the Ery- 
thraean Sea, navigated the southern sea. When autumn ar- 
rived, they drew to shore on that part of Libya opposite to 
which they might be : there they sowed the ground, and awaited 
the harvest, which, when they had reaped, they again set 
sail. Thus they continued their progress during two years : 
in the third, doubling the Pillars of Hercules, they arrived 
in Egypt. These persons affirmed, what to me seems incre- 
dible, though it may not to another — that, as they sailed round 
Libya, they had the sun (rising) on the right hand. In this 
way was Libya first made known. 

Long after the Phoenician voyage, as the Carthagenians 
relate, Sataspes, son "of Teaspes, of the Achsemenidian family, 
was sent out to circumnavigate Libya; though he failed to 
accomplish his task. For, appalled by the length and deso- 
lation of the voyage, he turned back without having achieved 
the toil imposed upon him by his mother. This Sataspes had 
violently insulted a daughter of Zopyrus, son of Megabysus ; 
for which offence he was about to be empaled by the order of 
king Xerxes, when his mother, who was the sister of Darius, 
interceded for him, saying that she would inflict upon her son 
a still greater punishment, for she would lay upon him the ne- 
cessity of circumnavigating Libya, until he should arrive in the 
Arabian Gulph. Xerxes consented to this proposal, and 
Sataspes going to Egypt, there hired a ship and mariners, and 
thence sailed through the Pillars of Hercules. Having passed 
these, and doubled the extreme point of Libya, which bears 
the name of Soloeis, he sailed southward ; but after traversing 

say that Europe was much less wide than Libya or Asia. But I think the 
intention of his argument in this and other places supposes that he 
thought Europe far more ample than either, in both its dimensions. 

(43) 



OF AFRICA. 285 

during many months a vast extent of sea, and knowing that 
still more must be passed, he turned his course, and sailed hack 
to Egypt. Thence he proceeded to Persia, and presented him- 
self before Xerxes. — He said that at the remotest part of the 
coast, along which he sailed, he saw men of diminutive stature, 
clad in leaves of the palm tree, who, whenever the sailors 
drew to shore, abandoned their towns, and fled to the hills. 
His people entering did the natives no other injury than taking 
their cattle. The reason why he could not sail entirely round 
Libya was, he said, that, in attempting further progress, his 
ship stuck fast. But Xerxes not giving credit to the excuse 
he made for not fulfilling the appointed task, condemned him 
to undergo his first sentence, and he was empaled. The chief 
officer of Sataspes, instantly as he heard of his death, fled to 
Samos with great wealth. This treasure was seized by a 
certain Samian, whose name I well know, and purposely 
conceal. 

The greater part of (the hitherto unknown regions of) Asia, 
was explored under the direction of Darius. This king wish- 
ing to know on what part of the coast the Indus meets the sea — 
a river which, after the Nile, is the only one that produces 
crocodiles, sent ships with persons upon whose fidelity and truth 
he could rely, and among these was Scylax of Caryandea. 
These, setting out from Caspatyrus, a city of Pactyica, de- 
scended the river in its course towards the east, till they reached 
the sea; then sailing westward, after the lapse of twenty 
months from their departure, they arrived at the spot whence 
the Phoenicians, mentioned above, set out who were sent by 
the king of Egypt to sail round Libya. After this voyage had 
been accomplished, Darius subdued the Indians, and frequented 
that sea {Indian Ocean). And thus Asia, excepting the ex- 
treme eastern parts, became known, and its similarity to Libya 
was discovered. 

But as to Europe, no one hitherto has discovered whether, 
on the north and on the east, it is surrounded by the sea. In 
extent it is known to reach as far as both (Asia and Libya). 
Nor can I conjecture why, as the earth is one, it has received 
three names — the names of women; or why the Nile of 
(45) 



286 NAMES OF THE CONTINENTS. 

Egypt, and the Phasis of Colchis — or, as some say, the river 
Tanais, the Maeotis, and Porthmeia in Cimmeria — should be 
chosen as points of separation. Nor can I learn who it was 
that established these artificial distinctions, or whence were 
derived these appellations. The Greeks in general affirm that 
Libya was so called from a native woman of that name ; while 
Asia received its designation from the wife of Prometheus. 
But the Lydians claim that name, affirming that Asia was so 
called from Asias, son of Cotys, and grandson of Manes ; — not 
from the grandson of Prometheus, and from whom a Sardian 
family is still called the Asian tribe. 

But concerning Europe, we are ignorant, not only of its 
extent, and whether it is surrounded by the sea, but of the 
derivation of its name, or who conferred it. Unless indeed we 
should say that this region which anciently like the other 
continents, was anonymous, received its appellation from the 
Tyrian Europa. Yet she was manifestly an Asiatic, nor came 
into the country which the Greeks now call Europe ; but 
passed only from Phoenicia to Crete, and from Crete to 
Lycia. So much for these matters : — meanwhile, we employ 
the designations which common usage has authenticated. 



SECTION IV. 

EIGHT RIVERS OF SCYTHIA. 

The {other) nations of the Euxine against which Darius 
made war are — we except the Scythians — of all people the 
most uncultivated. Nor, of all the tribes on this side the Pon- 
tus,* have we any thing to say in praise of their intelligence ; 

• I follow the translators in this passage : yet am inclined to think 
that by the phrase — rotv ivtoq tov Hovrov — Herodotus meant the na- 
tions within the Pontus, that is to say, those that were known and 
visited by entering the Euxine, in other words— the nations lining its 
shores. 

(46) 



SCYTHIAN RIVERS. 287 

nor do we know that, excepting only Anacharsis the Scythian, 
they have produced one man of celebrity. Yet the Scythians 
follow a mode of life than which nothing has been devised 
by any people more wise ; and though I admire none of their 
other practices, I admire this, the consequence of which is, 
that none who invade them can escape, and that when they 
wish not to be encountered, it is impossible to find them. — 
To secure these advantages, they build neither towns nor 
fortified places ; but bear their houses about with them. They 
are all habituated to use the bow on horse-back ; they subsist 
not upon the fruits of the soil, but upon their cattle, nor have 
other dwellings than what may be drawn by oxen. How then 
can such a people be otherwise than invincible and imprac- 
ticable in war ? This mode of life has been adopted by them 
in consequence of the nature of their country, which favours it ; 
and it is aided also by their rivers. For Scythia is a region of 
grassy and well-watered levels. — The rivers which take their 
course through it, are scarcely less frequent than are canals in 
Egypt. Those of them that are most noted, and which are 
navigable to some distance from the sea, I shall enumerate ; — 
such, for example, as the Ister, with its five mouths; then the 
Tyras, the Hypanis, the Borysthenes, the Panticapes, the 
Hypacyris, the Gerrhus, and the Tanais. — The courses of these 
rivers are as follow: — 

The Ister — the largest of all known rivers, flows with an 
equal stream both winter and summer. It is the first river in 
Scythia towards the west, and owes the greatness of its stream 
to several rivers which discharge themselves into it. Within 
the Scythian territory, there are five which join their waters 
to those of the Ister : — these are— the river called by the 
Scythians Porata, by the Greeks Pyretos: then the Tia- 
rantus, the Ararus, the ISTaparis, and the Ordessus. The first 
of the five is a large river, and flowing in an easterly direction, 
mingles with the Ister. The second —the Tiarantus, is 
smaller, and its course is more to the west. The Araras, the 
Naparis, and the Ordessus, enter the Ister between the two 
first named streams. These are the streams of Scythian 
origin which swell the Ister. The river Maris rises in the 
(49) 



288 THE ISTER. 

country of the Agathyrses, and mingles also with the Ister. 
From the summits of mount Haemus, three large rivers descend, 
and flowing northward, also empty their streams into the Ister : 
these are the Atlas, the Auras, and the Tibisis. It receives 
moreover three streams from Thrace, and the Crobyzian Thra- 
cians — namely the Athrys, the Noes, and the Artanes. And 
also from Paeonia and mount Rhodope, the river Cios, which 
divides Haemus nearly in the midst. From Illyria the Ister 
receives the Angrus, the course of which is northerly ; this 
river joins the Brongus, after watering the Triballian levels : 
thus the waters of two large rivers fall at once into the Ister. 
From the countries above the Umbrians flow the Carpis and the 
Alpis into the Ister : these also descend towarcs the north. 
For the Ister taking its rise among the Celts — the most westerly 
nation of Europe, except the Cynetes, passes through the whole 
extent of Europe, and discharges itself by the borders of 
Scythia. It is by the contributed streams I have mentioned, 
as well as many others, that the Ister becomes the largest of 
rivers. If indeed by itself alone it were compared with the 
Nile, it must in magnitude yield to the river of Egypt, for into 
that stream no river, no rill descends to augment its waters. 
The Ister runs with an equal stream summer and winter, for 
this reason, as I think : — during the winter it remains at its 
natural height, or is very little increased, because, in the coun- 
tries through which it passes, little rain falls at that season, 
the earth being covered with snow. Then, in the summer, 
the snows which have fallen abundantly through the winter, 
dissolve and flow into the Ister : at the same time frequent and 
vehement rains augment its stream ; — for summer is there the 
rainy season. By how much therefore the sun draws up to 
himself more water in^he summer than in the winter, by so much 
the contributions poured into the river are greater also in sum- 
mer than in winter. By the opposition of these, a counterpoise is 
produced, from which results the invariable equality of the river. 
After the Ister, the next of the Scythian rivers is the Tyras : 
this flows from the north, and takes its rise in a spacious lake, 
which separates Scythia from Neurida : at its mouth there is a 
colony of Greeks called Tyrites. 

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THE HYPANIS : THE BORYSTHENES. 289 

The third river is the Hypanis, which flows from a large 
lake, around which white horses feed in a wild state. This 
lake is very properly named — Mother of the Hypanis; for 
from it that river arises : through a course of five days' sailing it 
is shallow, and its waters are sweet ; but from thence to the 
sea, a distance of four days, it is exceedingly bitter ; for there 
it admits a spring so pungent, that, though small in quantity, 
it taints all the waters of the Hypanis — by no means one of the 
smallest of rivers. This fountain forms the boundary between 
the lands of the agricultural Scythians and the Alazones : its 
name, as well as that of the district whence it proceeds, is in 
the Scythian tongue Exampaeus, or in Greek — the Sacred 
Ways. In the country of the Alazones, the Hypanis and 
Tyros approach ; but afterwards separate, leaving an ample 
space between. 

The fourth river is the Borysthenes, which after the Ister, is 
the largest of these rivers, and in our opinion the most opulent, 
not only of the Scythian, but of all rivers, excepting only the 
Nile, with which no other may be compared. For the Borys- 
thenes presents pasturages of great beauty, and singularly 
favourable to the rearing of cattle ; fish of the rarest excellence 
are produced in it abundantly; its waters are sweet to the 
taste. It is limpid amid the turbid;— "excellent grain is pro- 
duced on its banks ; and even the lands that are uncultivated 
are thickly covered with vegetation. At its mouths salt in 
great abundance is crystallized spontaneously. Fish of large 
size, called antacaeus, free from prickly bones, are caught 
there, and cured. We mention not many other admirable 
productions. The Borysthenes is known to flow from the 
north, through a course of forty days' sailing, at which dis- 
tance from the sea it leaves the country qplled Gerrhus. But 
what nations it visits above the region we have named is not 
ascertained. Yet there is reason to suppose that, when it 
reaches the agricultural Scythians, it has traversed an unin- 
habited region. These Scythians occupy its banks through 
a space of ten days' sailing. Of this river, as of the Nile, and 
of these only, the sources are unknown— not to me only, but, 
I believe, to all the Greeks. When it approaches the sea, 
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290 RIVERS OF SCYTHIA. 

it mingles its waters with- those of the Hypanis in the same 
morass. The projecting land between these rivers is called 
the promontory of Hippolaus, and it contains a temple of Ceres. 
Beyond this temple, and towards the Hypanis, dwell the 
Borysthenians. 

The fifth river is the Panticapes; this also rises in a lake, 
and runs southward. The space between this river and the 
Borysthenes is occupied by the agricultural Scythians ; it 
passes Hylsea, and afterwards mingles itself with the 
Borysthenes. 

The sixth river is the Hypacyris, which proceeding from 
a lake, and running mid-way through the tracts of the no- 
madic Scythians, finds its exit near the city Carcinitis, leaving 
on the right Hylaea, and the race course of Achilles, as it is 
called. 

The seventh river is the Gerrhus, which parts from the 
Borysthenes where that river becomes known, and in the 
region to which it gives its name — Gerrhus. In its course 
towards the sea, it separates the nomadic from the royal Scy- 
thians, and then loses itself in the Hypacyris. 

The eighth river is the Tanais, which has its distant source 
in a large lake, and empties itself into one still larger — the 
Maeotis, which divides the royal Scythians from the 
Sauromatians. „The Tanais receives another river named the 
Hyrgis. 

Such are the celebrated rivers which benefit the territory of 
the Scythians. The grasses produced on their banks are the 
most nutritive to cattle of any we have known : convincing 
proofs of which present themselves to any one who opens 
the animals that are fattened in Scythia. These people 
therefore enjoy abundance. 



(58) 



291 



SECTION V. 

SCYTHIAN CUSTOMS. 

The customs of the Scythians, besides what we have men- 
tioned, are such as follow: — The only gods they propitiate 
are — first of all Vesta, then Jupiter, and the Earth — the wife 
of Jupiter, as they think. ISText to these Apollo, and Venus 
Urania, and Hercules, and Mars. These divinities are wor- 
shipped by all the Scythians. But the royal Scythians sacri- 
fice to Neptune also. Vesta, in the Scythian tongue, is called 
Tahiti. Jupiter, as I think very properly is called Papeeus, 
{father) — the earth is named Apia; — Apollo, (Etosyrus; — 
Venus Urania, Artimpasa; — Neptune, Thamimasadas. Sta- 
tues, altars, and temples, they erect to none but to Mars. 
Their mode of sacrifice is in all places and on all occasions the 
same. The victim stands with its fore-feet tied with a cord : the 
sacrificer places himself behind the beast, and pulling the 
cord throws the animal down : as it falls he invokes the god 
to whom the sacrifice is offered : then twisting the cord round 
its neck, tightens it with a stick, until the animal is strangled. 
No fire is kindled, no auspices observed, no libations made ; 
but when the animal is strangled and flayed, they address 
themselves to the cooking it. But the Scythian regions being 
utterly destitute of trees, they have recourse to a contrivance 
for cooking their meat. — When they have flayed the animal, 
they strip all the flesh from the bones, and put it into pots — 
if they have them — made in the country, and which, though 
of a much larger size, are similar in form to the Lesbian 
bowls. In these they cook the flesh, burning the bones be- 
neath the vessels.* If they do not possess a pot of this kind, 
they enclose the flesh of the victim in the {integuments of the) 

* See Ezekielxxiv. 5. " Take the choice of the flock, and burn also 
the bones under it," &c. 

(61) u 2 



292 SCYTHIA"N RITES. 

belly, with water, and burn the bones underneath, which 
blaze brightly, while the integuments easily contain the flesh 
freed from the bones. Thus the ox is made to cook himself; 
and other victims are served in the same manner. When the 
flesh is dressed, the sacrificer offers (or observes auspices) by 
throwing before him parts of the flesh and of the intestines. 
They sacrifice also other cattle, of which horses are the 
chief. 

In this manner, and with such victims, do they sacrifice to 
the other gods ; but to Mars thus : — In every district where 
the princes assemble, there is erected a structure sacred to 
Mars, which is formed in the following manner : — With 
faggots they form a pile, three furlongs in both dimensions, 
but not so high. Upon this a quadrangular platform is con- 
structed, three sides of which are steep ; but the other is acces- 
sible. Every year one hundred and fifty waggon-loads of 
faggots are brought to replace what has been decayed by the 
weather. On the summit of this heap, each tribe places an 
old iron scymetar, which they consider as the image (symbol) 
of the god ; and to this scymetar they offer annual sacrifices 
of cattle and horses; and they present to these (scymetars) 
more offerings than to all the other gods. Every hundredth 
man of the prisoners taken in war they immolate — not in the 
same manner as cattle, but otherwise. For first they pour 
libations upon the heads of the human victims, and then 
slaughter them over vessels ; these vessels are carried upon the 
pile, and the blood is poured upon the scymetar. While this 
is done aloft, below, near the temple (the consecrated enclosure) 
they cut off the right shoulders with the arms of all who have 
been immolated, and throw them into the air. After having 
slain all the victims, they depart : — the arm lies where it falls 
at a distance from the body. Such are the institutions' which 
regulate their sacrifices. Swine they never use, nor will by 
any means have them reared in their country. 

Their usages in war are the following : — Every Scythian 
drinks the blood of the first man he overthrows in battle ; and 
he cuts off the heads of all he kills, and carries them to the 
king; for not until he has brought a head, does he take his 

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USAGES IN WAR. 293 

share in the booty that may be won. The Scythian scalps a 
head in this way — he makes a gash round by the ears, and 
then giving the head a shake, separates it from the skin : 
having scraped away the flesh with the rib of an ox, he kneads 
it (the skin) with his hands, and when it is well softened, uses 
it as a towel, or attaches it boastfully to the bridle of his horse. 
He who possesses the greatest number of these towels of skin, 
is held in the highest honour for valour. Many Scythians 
sowing these skins together, form cloaks of them, like the 
leathern hoods worn by shepherds. And many, taking the 
skins with the nails from the right hand of those they have 
slain, form with them coverings to their quivers. The human 
skin is in fact thick ; and when tanned, excels almost all other 
skins in brilliancy and whiteness. Many taking the entire 
skin of their enemy, and stretching it upon pieces of wood, carry 
it on horseback. — Such are their customs. 

The heads, not indeed all, but those of their greatest ene- 
mies, they dispose of in this manner :— They saw off the skull 
just above the eye-brows, and cleanse it. If the man is poor, 
he contents himself with stretching over its external surface 
a piece of bull's-hide, and so uses it ; but the rich Scy- 
thian, besides the piece of hide, lines the skull with 
gold, and then it serves him for a drinking cup. In this 
way they serve the heads even of their nearest relatives, if 
on occasion of some disagreement, they have gained the advan- 
tage over them in an appeal to the king. When strangers of 
any importance visit a Scythian, he produces these skulls — 
recounts how, though his relatives, they attacked him, and 
how he vanquished them ; and upon sueh actions they confer 
the praise of virtue. 

Once in every year the governor of each district mingles a 
cup of wine of which those Scythians only drink who have de- 
stroyed enemies ; while those who have not achieved so much, 
taste not the wine, but sit disgraced apart : and this is deemed 
an extreme ignominy. Those who have slain great numbers 
quaff a double cup. Seers are numerous among the Scythians, 
who predict by means of willow twigs. Having collected a 
number of large bundles of rods, they place them on the 
(66) u 3 



294 JUDGMENT OF THE SEERS. 

ground, unbind them, and placing each rod apart, then utter 
their predictions. While pronouncing their prediction, they 
again collect the rods, and again place them singly apart. 
This is the original divination of the country. An effeminate 
class of persons pretend to deliver responses from Aphrodite. 
This kind is practised with the bark of the linden-tree : — 
having divided the bark into three portions, they weave it 
round their ringers, and then releasing it, pronounce their 
response. 

When a Scythian king is attacked with disease, he sends 
for three of the most noted seera, who, in the above-mentioned 
manner, give their divinations. Most often these persons 
declare that such or such a member of the community has 
sworn falsely by the royal hearth — for it is the established 
custom of the Scythians, on the most solemn occasions, to 
swear by the royal hearth. Forthwith the person thus accused 
is arrested, and brought forward; and when he appears, is 
charged by the seers, who indict him ' on manifest proof by 
divination, of having forsworn himself by the royal hearth, 
and so of having occasioned the king's illness.' The accused 
man denies the charge — declares he is not perjured, and deeply 
resents the imputation. Upon this denial, the king calls for 
another set of seers, double in number; and if these also, 
upon inspecting the divination, convict him of perjury, he im- 
mediately suffers decapitation, and his goods are taken pos- 
session of by the first seers. But if the second set discharge 
the accused, others are called in; and even others after 
them; and if by the decision of the majority, the man is 
acquitted, sentence of death is given against the first set of 
diviners. 

They perish in the following mode : — A waggon is filled with 
faggots ; oxen are yoked to it ; — the seers, with their feet tied, 
their hands bound behind them, and their mouths gagged, are 
stowed in the midst of the faggots, which are set on fire, and 
the oxen are frightened and driven off. Often these animals 
are burned with the seers ; — often, half burned, they effect 
their escape when their traces are consumed. In this mode 
seers are burned, for other crimes as well as for the one men- 

(69) 



BURIAL OF THE KINGS. „ 295 

tioned : and such are called false prophets. A Scythian 
king puts to death the male children of those whom he con- 
demns to die ; the daughters only are suffered to escape. The 
Scythians in ratifying a covenant by oath, observe the follow- 
ing usages : — They pour wine into a large earthern vase, with 
which they mingle the blood of the covenanting parties, drawn 
by the stroke of an awl, or by a knife. In this mingled cup 
they immerse a scymetar, several arrows, a hatchet, and a 
javelin: this done, they utter many prayers; and then the 
contracting parties drink the mixture, in which they are joined 
by the chief persons in their train. 

The sepulchres of the kings are in the district named 
Gerrhus, where the Borysthenes becomes navigable. There, 
when one of their kings dies, the Scythians dig a large qua- 
drangular pit, and thither, when it is ready, they bring the 
corpse, cover it with wax, lay open the body, cleanse it, and 
fill the cavity with the cyprian aromatic, cut small, and incense, 
and parsley, and aniserseed : after which it is sown up. Then 
they carry the corpse in a chariot to another tribe, where the 
people, as soon as they receive the dead, practise what has 
been done by the royal Scythians — they amputate a portion 
of their ears, cut their hair round the head, rend the skin of the 
forehead and nose, and thrust an arrow through their right 
hands. The chariot bearing the royal corpse, is then passed 
on to another province of his kingdom ; meanwhile they to 
whom it was first brought follow it. When thus they have 
traversed the realm, they find themselves again in the province 
of Gerrhus, which is the most remote of all the Scythian 
regions. There they give it burial, placing the body on a 
mattress of straw (or grass). On this side, and on that of the 
body, they plant spears, and cover it with wood, and roof it 
over with hurdles of willow : in the remaining space of the 
pit, they inter one of the late king's women, whom they strangle 
for the purpose ; and with her his cup bearer, his cook, his 
groom, his minister, his courier, his horses, as well as some 
articles of every kind he may have need of, and several 
golden goblets — neither silver nor brass is in use among them. 
This done, they all contend eagerly with each other in the 
(71) u 4 



296 ROYAL SEPULCHRE. 

work of heaping over the whole a mound of earth (tumulus) 
as vast a possible. 

When a year has transpired, they perform new rites. Those 
of the late king's attendants who most assiduously served him, 
and who were native Scythians; — for he commands the ser- 
vices of whom he pleases among his subjects, and has no 
purchased slaves; — these, to the number of fifty, wiih the 
same number of the finest horses, are strangled. The bodies 
are then embowelled, cleansed, filled with chaff, and sewed 
up. Half the felley of a wheel is fixed supine upon two 
pieces of wood, and the other half upon other pieces ; in the 
same manner many wheels are prepared. Then, spitting the 
horses upon stout stakes, driven through the body from tail to 
neck, they mount them on the half- wheels, in such a manner 
that the shoulders of the horse may be supported by one of 
the half-wheels, and the hind parts by another, which passes 
under the belly near the thighs; while both fore and hind legs 
hang suspended in the air. The horse is furnished with bit 
and bridle ; the latter being brought forwards and fixed to a 
stake. The fifty youths who have been strangled are then 
severally placed upon the horses ; this is effected by passing 
a stake along the spine to the neck ; the stake is fastened in 
a perforation of the beam on which the horse is spitted. 
Having stationed these troopers in. a circle round the tomb, 
they depart. 

Such is the mode in which the kings are buried. On the 
death of a private person, his nearest relatives carry the body, 
laid on a carriage, from house to house among his friends, 
each of whom receives it, and entertains those who follow 
with good cheer. And to the corpse they present, as to the 
other guests, a portion of every dish. During forty days, the 
bodies of private persons are thus borne about, and are then 
buried. Scythians who have been engaged in performing 
these rites of sepulture, purify themselves in the following 
manner : — first they anoint and bathe the head ; and for 
(purifying) the body, they fix three sticks in the ground, 
inclining towards each other; over these they stretch thick 
woollen cloths, joined together as closely as possible : then 

■ (73) 



ANACHARSIS. 297 

they cast into a cavity in the midst of the tent — formed by 
the sticks and cloths — stones heated to a transparent brightness. 

In Scythia there grows a plant resembling flax, only 
that it is more thick and tall, and therefore preferable. 
This both grows spontaneously, and is cultivated, and from 
it the Thracians manufacture vestments which none but persons 
well versed in such matters can distinguish from linen of flax. 
The Scythians then take some of the seed of this plant, and 
slipping it beneath the tent of woollen cloth, throw it upon 
the glowing stones : when thus heated, it emits a vapour of 
mofe power than any fumigation used by the Greeks. The 
Scythians, intoxicated with the fumes, begin to roar, and the 
sudorific serves them instead of washing; for on no account 
will they bathe the body in water. Their women bruise 
Cyprus and cedar wood, and the wood of the tree that bears 
frankincense, upon a rough stone, with water ; and when the 
bruised mass becomes a thick paste, they plaister the whole 
body and face with it. This not only serves them as a per- 
fume, but the next day, when the cataplast is removed, the skin 
is both cleansed and brightened. 

The Scythians are excessively averse to the admission of 
foreign usages — even those of another Scythian province. 
But to none are they so much opposed as to those of the 
Greeks. Of this aversion they gave proof in the instance of 
Anacharsis, and afterwards of Scylas. Anacharsis, after 
visiting many countries, displaying wherever he went his 
eminent wisdom, on his return towards Scythia, sailed through 
the Hellespont, and went ashore at Cyzicus, where he found 
the people celebrating, with extraordinary magnificence, a 
feast in honour of the mother of the gods. There Anacharsis 
made a vow to the goddess, that if he returned safe and sound 
to his home, he would sacrifice to her in the same manner as 
he saw done by the people of Cyzicus, and also institute 
vigils. When he arrived in Scythia, he retired into Hylaea — 
to a spot near the race-course of Achilles, and which is every 
where thickly covered with trees. Hiding himself in the 
seclusion, Anacharsis performed all the rites proper to the 
goddess— holding a drum, and being invested with little 
(76) 



298 FATE OF 

images. While thus employed, he was seen by a Scythian, 
who denounced him to Saulius the king, who came himself, 
and no sooner did he witness the fact, than he shot him dead ; 
and at the present day, if you mention Anacharsis, the Scy- 
thians profess that they know no such person ; only because 
he travelled in Greece, and adopted foreign customs. I heard 
from Timnes, guardian of Ariapithes, that Anacharsis was 
paternal uncle of Idanthyrsus, king of Scythia, and son of 
Gnurus, who was son of Lycus, who was son of Spargapithes. 
If then Anacharsis was of this family, it appears that he 
died by the hand of his own brother; for Idanthyrsus was 
the son of Saulius, and it was Saulius who killed Anacharsis. 

I have indeed heard another story told by the Pelopon- 
nesians concerning Anacharsis. They affirm that he had 
been sent out by the Scythian king that he might acquire 
Greek learning. On his return home, he informed the king 
who sent him that the Greeks, universally, excepting only the 
Lacedaemonians, applied themselves assiduously to the attain- 
ment of all kinds of wisdom ; but that to these alone it be- 
longed wisely to speak and to hear. But this has been prettily 
imagined by the Peloponnesian Greeks. The person of whom 
we are speaking perished in the manner above related, and the 
cause of his death was nothing else than his having introduced 
foreign usages, and having held familiar intercourse with the 
Greeks. Many years afterwards Scylas, son of Ariapithes, 
underwent a similar fate. Ariapithes the Scythian king, had 
several sons, among whom was Scylas, born of a foreign 
mother — a woman of Istria. She taught her son the language 
and learning of Greece. In course of time, Ariapites was 
traiterously killed by Spargapithes, king of the Agathyrses. 
Scylas then succeeded to the kingdom, and espoused his 
father's wife, named Opcea, a Scythian woman, who had 
borne to the late king a son named Oricus. Scylas, though 
king of Scythia, could not endure to conform to the Scythian 
mode of life : but under the influence of the notions he had 
imbibed in his early years, inclined much more to the usages 
of Greece. The course he pursued was this — Whenever he 
led the Scythian forces to the Borysthenians — these Borys- 

(78) 



SOYLAS. 299 

thenians profess themselves to be from Miletus — as he 
approached the town, he left the army in the vicinity, while he 
himself entering the wails, closed the gates, and then throwing 
aside the Scythian garb, assumed the Grecian dress, and thus 
attired, frequented the public places, unattended by guards, 
or any person whatever : meanwhile the gates were guarded 
lest some Scythian should see him so habited. In other 
respects also he adopted the Grecian modes of living, and 
performed sacrifices to the gods according to the rites of the 
Grecian worship. When he had remained in this place a 
month or more, he took his departure, having reassumed the 
Scythian dress. This he did often, and even erected for 
himself a mansion in the city, and married a woman who was 
a native of the place. But when the fated time of his cala- 
mity arrived, it happened on the following occasion : — He 
greatly desired to be initiated in the mysteries of Bacchus. 
Just when the initiatories were about to be delivered to him, 
a signal prodigy occurred : — He had, as I have already men- 
tioned, a mansion in the city of the Borysthenians, and this 
residence was spacious, including magnificent grounds; and 
around it were placed sphinxes and griffins, carved in white 
marble. But the god cast his bolt upon the palace of Scylas, 
and all was consumed. Notwithstanding this event, Scylas 
accomplished his initiation. Now the Scythians are wont to 
reproach the Greeks on account of the Bacchanalian orgies ; 
for, as they say, it is not reasonable to institute worship to a 
god who urges men to madness. When therefore Scylas was 
initiated in the orgies, a certain Borysthenian gave infor- 
mation of the fact to the Scythians, in these terms—" You 
Scythians are wont to deride us when, possessed by the god, 
we fulfil the orgies. But this very daemon has got possession 
of your own king ; and he now celebrates the orgies, and is 
maddened by the god. If you doubt my word follow, and 
I will shew him to you." The Scythian chiefs followed him, 
and the Borysthenian leading the way, placed them in con- 
cealment upon a tower. When Scylas passed in the 
midst of the frantic mob, and the Scythians beheld him 
in the orgies, they deemed it a great and grievous cala- 
(79) 



800 FATE OF SCYLAS. 

mity, and retiring, made known to the whole army what they 
had seen. 

When after this, Scylas returned to his hearth, the Scy- 
thians revolted and set up his brother Octamasades, son of the 
daughter of Teres. He, informed of what was done against 
him, and on what account, took refuge in Thrace. When 
Octamasades learned the place of his retreat, he invaded that 
country, and on reaching the banks of the Ister, found him- 
self opposed by the Thracians. Just as the two armies were 
about to engage, Sitalces sent a herald with this message to 
Octamasades — " Why need we try each other's strength. — 
You are the son of my sister, and you have with you my 
brother. — Restore him to me, and I will surrender your bro- 
ther to you. So doing, neither you nor I shall incur the 
perils of war." Such was the proposal of Sitalces ; for his 
brother had taken refuge with Octamasades. He assented, 
and while he surrendered his maternal uncle, received his 
brother Scylas. Satalces, on his part, retired with his bro- 
ther, and Octamasades beheaded Scylas on the spot. Thus 
rigidly do the Scythians adhere to their own customs, and 
thus punish those who illegally adopt foreign usages. 

I have never been able to learn with exactness the popu- 
lation of Scythia, concerning which I heard many discordant 
accounts — some saying that the Scythians are extremely 
numerous; and others affirming that those properly termed 
Scythians are very few. I will relate what I myself ob- 
served. — Between the Borysthenes and the Hypanis, is a 
region called Exampaeus, which, as I have already had occa- 
sion to mention, (p. 289) contains a bitter spring, flowing 
into the Hypanis, and rendering the waters of that river unfit 
to be drank. In this district there is a brazen cauldron, six 
times as large as that which was dedicated by Pausanias, son 
of Cleombrotus, and placed at the mouth of the Euxine. 
But for the sake of those who have not seen the Pontine 
cauldron, I will describe the dimensions of the Scythian 
vessel; — it easily contains six hundred amphoras, and it is 
six fingers in thickness ; and the natives affirm that it was 
formed of the points of arrows. For one of their kings, named 

(81) 



INVASION OF SCYTHIA. 301 

Ariantus, wishing to know the number of the Scythians, 
commanded each of his subjects to bring him one arrow-head, 
threatening with death those who neglected to do so. In 
consequence, a vast amount of points was accumulated, and 
by way of leaving a monument of himself to posterity, he 
caused^this vessel to be formed from them, which he conse- 
crated in the district above-mentioned. This story I heard in 
proof of the populousness of Scythia. 

Excepting its many large rivers, Scythia presents no- 
thing to excite admiration. We might indeed include its 
vast plains : and I will also mention the impression of the 
foot of Hercules, which they show you on a rock, near 
the river Tyras : it resembles the print of the human foot, 
but is two cubits in length. But I resume my proposed 
narrative. 



SECTION VI. 

INVASION OF SCYTHIA BY DARIUS. 

Darius, in making preparations to invade Scythia, des- 
patched messengers in various directions, exacting from 
some of his subjects a levy of land forces ; from others 
requiring ships ; while upon others he imposed the task 
of constructing bridges across the Thracian Bosphorus. 
Artabanus, son of Hystaspes, and brother of Darius, 
opposed this enterprize, alleging the poverty of the 
Scythians. But these prudent dissuasions availed nothing, 
and he desisted from urging his advice. All being in 
readiness, Darius at the head of his army left Susa. 
Then it was that a Persian named CEobazus, who had 
three sons serving in the army, besought Darius to leave 
him one of them. The king, affecting the tone of friend- 
(84) 



-302 THE EUXINE. 

ship, and as if he thought the request reasonable, said 
that all the three should be left. The father was de- 
lighted, supposing that his sons were to receive their dis- 
charge from the service. But Darius commanded the 
attendants to put to death the three sons of CEobazus ; this 
order they executed, and left the bodies on the spot. 

Darius proceeded from Susa to Chalcedon, where the 
bridges had been constructed across the Bosphorus : 
taking ship at that place he sailed to the Cyanean islands, 
which formerly, as the Greeks affirm, were unfixed. 
There, sitting at the temple, he surveyed the fair prospect 
of the Euxine — a sea beyond any other admirable. 

[The length of this water is 11,100 furlongs: its breadth, 
at the widest part, is 3,300 furlongs : its exit is four furlongs 
wide, and about one hundred and twenty in length. It 
was upon this neck, called the Bosphorus, that the bridge 
was constructed. The Bosphorus extends to the Propontis, 
and the Propontis is five hundred furlongs wide, and 1,300 
long : it discharges itself by the Hellespont, which at its 
narrowest part, measures seven furlongs : its length is four 
hundred. The Hellespont communicates with the open 
iEgaean Sea. 

These measurements are thus calculated :— A vessel in a 
long day will make about 70,000 fathoms ; and in the night 
60,000 ; now from the Bosphorus to the Phasis, which is the 
greatest length of the Euxine, is a distance of nine days' and 
eight nights' sailing. This makes 1,110,000 fathoms, or 
11,100 furlongs. Then from Sindica to Themiscyra, upon 
the Thermodon, where the Euxine is broadest, is a distance 
that may be passed in three days and two nights, which make 
330,000 fathoms, or 3,300 furlongs. It is thus I have cal- 
culated the measurements of the Euxine, the Bosphorus, and 
the Hellespont, which are such as I have described them. 
The Euxine receive the waters of the Palus Maeotis — a gulph 
not much less than itself, and which is called the mother of 
the Euxine.] 

(86) 



JUNCTION OF THE BOSPHORUS. 303 

Darius having surveyed the sea, returned to the bridge, 
of which Mandrocles, a Samian, was the architect. He 
surveyed also the Bosphorus, and on its banks erected 
two columns of white marble, which bore inscriptions, one 
in the Assyrian, the other in the Greek characters, con- 
taining a list of all the nations composing his army ; and 
he had some from every country of his dominions. This 
army, exclusively of the fleet which consisted of 600 
vessels, was computed — horse and foot together, to 
amount to 700,000 men. These two columns the Byzan- 
tines afterwards transported to their city, and have used 
them for constructing the altar of the Orthosian Diana. 
They left, however, a single stone of the columns, covered 
with Assyrian writing, near the temple of Bacchus, at 
Byzantium. The bridge constructed by Darius was 
situated, as nearly as I can calculate, half-way between 
Byzantium and the temple which stands at the (inner) 
mouth of the Bosphorus. 

Pleased with the bridge of barges, Darius presented to 
the Samian architect Mandrocles, a tithe of all ; and from 
these, Mandrocles took a portion to be dedicated at the 
temple of Juno, Cat Samos) the value of this portion was 
expended on a picture, representing the entire junction of 
the Bosphorus, and exhibiting king Darius, seated on a 
throne, while his army passed over: the epigraph was as 
follows : — 

" To Juno, Mandrocles this offering gave : — 
He joined by boats the fish-abounding wave 
Of Bosphorus ; — earned for himself a crown ; 
And pleased his king ; and gained his isle renown." 

Such was the monument of the man who constructed 
the bridge. Having recompensed Mandrocles, Darius 
passed over into Europe. He had enjoined the Ionians 
to sail into the Euxine, as far as the Ister, where they 
were to wait his arrival, and in the mean time to construct 
(89) 



304 MARCH OF DARIUS. 

a bridge over the river. For the Ionians, JEolians, and 
Hellespontines, conducted the naval force. The fleet 
passing the Cyanean islands, sailed directly for the Ister, 
and ascending the stream two days' voyage, yoked the 
neck of the river, just above the point where it parts 
into the seven streams which form its mouths. Darius 
passing over the Bosphorus by the bridge of boats, ad- , 
vanced through Thrace ; and when he arrived at the 
fountains of the Tearus he encamped three days. This 
river is said by those who dwell upon its banks to be the 
finest of all streams for the healing qualities of its waters, 
which are especially efficacious in curing blains, both in 
men and horses. There are thirty-eight of these fountains, 
gushing from the same rock, some of which are cold, 
others hot. They are situated half-way between the city 
Heraeus, near Perinthus, and Apollonia, on the Euxine, 
and two days' journey from both. The Tearus empties 
itself into the Contadestus, and this into the Agrianis, 
and this into the Hebrus, and this into the sea near the 
city iEnus. Darius, we say, formed his camp near the 
Tearus, with which he was so much pleased that he 
erected a column on its banks, bearing the following in- 
scription : — " The waters of the heads of the Tearus sur- 
pass in beauty and goodness the waters of all other rivers. 
And the best and handsomest of men came to them, lead- 
ing an army against the Scythians — even Darius, son of 
Hystaspes, king of the Persians, and of all the continent." 
Such was this inscription. 

Proceeding thence, Darius reached another river, named 
Artiscus, which runs through Odrysas. And here, march- 
ing his army into an open space, he commanded each man 
as he passed to place a stone: — several large mounds 
of stones were left on the spot : he then moved onwards. 
The first people conquered by Darius before he reached 
the Ister were the Getes, who profess themselves to be 
immortal. The Thracians of Salmydessus, and those 

(93) 



ZALMOXIS. 305 

living above Apollonia and Mesambria, called Scyrmiades, 
and Nipsaeans, surrendered to him without striking a 
blow. But the Getes, through fool-hardiness, faced him, 
and were presently reduced to slavery. 

[These people are at once the most noble, and the most 
virtuous of the Thracians. Their profession of immortality is 
of this kind: — They believe that they do not actually die; 
but that when any one deceases, he goes to the daemon Zal- 
moxis, or, as some of them name him, Gebele'izis. Once in 
five years they despatch one of themselves, taken by lot, as 
a messenger to Zalmoxis, to inform him of their particular 
wants. Their mode of sending him is this : — Three persons are 
placed together, each holding a javelin : others, taking up him 
who is to be sent to Zalmoxis by the arms and feet, give him 
a swinging motion, and then throw him into the air upon the 
spikes. If he is mortally pierced, they deem the god to be 
propitious to them. But if he fails to die, they lay the blame 
on the messenger, accusing him of being a base fellow. Then 
they despatch another, having first given him his orders. 
These same Thracians discharge their arrows at the heavens 
when it thunders and lightens, as a menace to their god ; 
and they believe that there exists no other god but their 
own. 

According to what I learned from the Greeks of the Hel- 
lespont and the Euxine, this Zalmoxis was a man, and the 
slave of Pythagoras, son of Mnesarchus, at Samos. Having 
obtained his liberty, he amassed great riches, with which he 
returned to his own country. The Thracian manners and 
mode of life were wretched and gross in the extreme. But 
Zalmoxis had been conversant with the Ionic usages, and with 
institutions better founded than those of Thrace ; he had 
moreover been familiar with the Greeks, and especially with 
Pythagoras — a sage of great eminence among them : on his 
return, he constructed a saloon, in which he received and 
sumptuously entertained the chiefs of the country. While 
they frequented his table, he taught them his doctrine, affirm- 
ing, that neither he nor his guests, nor their descendants, for 
(95) X 



306 COUNSEL OF COES 

ever, would die, but would go to that region where they would 
always live in the possession of every good. During the 
time that he took these measures, and held this discourse, 
he caused a subterraneous abode to be constructed, and when 
it was completed, he vanished from the sight of the Thra- 
cians : for descending into this vault, he remained there three 
years. The Thracians regretted and mourned him as dead ; 
but in the fourth year, he appeared to them again, and 
by this means persuaded them of the truth of what he had 
said. 

For my own part, I care neither to doubt nor to believe 
this story of Zalmoxis and his vault. But I am of opinion that 
he lived many years before the time of Pythagoras : — and whe- 
ther he were a man, or a country daemon of the Getes, I take 
my leave of him.] 

The Getes, whose opinions I have mentioned, being 
vanquished by the Persians, were united to the army. 
When Darius with his land forces reached the Ister, he 
passed the whole army over, and then commanded the 
Ionians to dissolve the bridge ; and, with their men from 
the fleet, to follow him by land. Just as they were about 
to fulfil this command, Coes, son of Erxander, general of 
the Mityleneans, having first asked if advice would be re- 
ceived in good part, thus addressed Darius : — " You are 
about, O king, to invade a country whose inhabitants 
neither cultivate their soil, nor dwell in cities. I advise 
therefore that you suffer this bridge to remain where it 
is, and that you leave those who constructed it to guard 
it. If, then, we meet with the Scythians and succeed 
according to our wishes, we shall have a way of return ; 
or should we not be able to find them, we shall in like 
manner possess the means of a safe retreat. Not that I 
fear our being overcome by the Scythians in battle ; but 
rather I apprehend lest — unable to meet them — we should 
suffer some calamity in our wanderings. Let it not seem 
to any one that I give this advice for my own sake, that 

(97) 



ADOPTED BY DARIUS. 307 

I may remain here. For while I openly declare what 
appears to me most advantageous to you, Sire, I am ready 
to follow you ; nor would I be left behind." 

Darius was much pleased with the advice of the Greek, 
and thus replied: — "Lesbian guest! when I shall have 
returned in safety to my palace, present yourself before 
me, that I may requite your good counsel with good 
deeds." Thus saying, he tied sixty knots in a thong, and 
addressing himself to the Ionian tyrants said — " Ionians! 
I change my first resolution concerning the bridge. Take 
this thong, and beginning on the very day when you see 
me set out against the Scythians, loose every day a knot. 
If at the expiration of that time I do not appear, and 
yet all the days numbered by the knots are passed, then 
return every one of you to his home. Meanwhile, as I 
have changed my purpose, guard the bridge, and with all 
diligence preserve and watch it. Thus doing, you will 
win my especial favour." After this Darius pushed 
forwards. 



SECTION VII. 

ULTRA SCYTHIAN NATIONS. AMAZONS. 

[The Scythian territory lies opposite to Thrace, on the 
coast : for Scythia begins at the gulph where Thrace termi- 
nates, and where the Ister, after making a turn towards the 
east, discharges its waters.* I now propose to describe the 

* The Danube runs northward for some distance, parallel with the 
coast of the Euxine, and then, making a turn eastward, reaches 
that sea. This passage has been variously rendered, the difference is 
unimportant. 

(99) x 2 



308 SCYTHIA: JTAURICA. 

Scythian regions, commencing at the Ister, and to state the 
extent of its sea-coast. Ancient Scythia is the more southern 
region which extends from the Ister to the city Carcinitis. 
From that city, proceeding along the same coast, is a moun- 
tainous region, projecting into the Euxine, and inhabited by 
the Taurian nation, as far as the Trachea of the Qhersonese, 
which stands on the coast of the eastern sea. The line of 
Scythian coast takes two directions, one tending towards the 
south, the other towards the east, similar to the coasts of 
Attica* The Taurians therefore bear almost the same relation 
to the rest of Scythia, as any foreign people might bear 
to Attica, who should settle about the promontory of Sunium, 
which stretches out into the sea from Thoricum, to Anaplys- 
tum. Thus I compare small things with great. — Such then is 
Taurica. But for the sake of those who have never visited the 
Attic shores, I will use another comparison. — Suppose some 
people, distinct from the Japyges, occupied exclusively the 
promontory from Brentesium (Brundusium) to Tarentum. 
Many other promontories, besides the two I have mentioned, 
might be compared to Taurica. 

From Taurica, and along the coast of the sea eastward, 
the country is occupied still by Scythians, above the Taurians, 
who extend along the shores of the Cimmerian Bosphorus, and 
the western coast of the Palus Maeotis, as far as the Tanai's, 
which empties itself into the farthest recess of that lake. 
Now to return to the Ister, and to proceed thence inland, 
we find Scythia bounded, first by the Agathyrses; then by the 
Neurians ; next by the Androphages ; and lastly by the Me- 
lanchlaeans. 

Scythia being nearly a square, its two lines of coast are 
just equal to its two inland boundaries. For, from the Ister 
to the Borysthenes, is a distance of ten days' journey; and 
from thence to the (entrance of the) Palus Maeotis is another 
ten. Again, from the sea-coast to the interior, where the 

* Our author seems to have supposed that the Crimea extended 
much more prominently into the Euxine than it actually does ; the 
same error led him to speak of the Palus Maeotis as almost equal to the 
Euxine. 

(101) 



THE TAURIANS. 309 

Melanchlaeans border upon the Scythians, is twenty days' 
journey. I calculate a day's journey at two hundred fur- 
longs. On this computation the oblique sides of Scythia will 
measure 4,000 furlongs, which is also the distance directly 
through the midst of the country. Such is the extent of this 
land.] 

The Scythians on consultation deemed themselves un- 
able alone to contend in pitched battles with Darius: 
they therefore sent messengers to the neighbouring na- 
tions. And hearing that so large an army was advancing, 
the kings of those nations met together for consultation. 
The kings who met on this occasion were those of the 
Taurians, the Agathyrses, the Neurians, the Androphages, 
the Melanchlaeans, the Gelons, the Budians, and the 
Sauromates. 

[The customs of the Taurians are such as these : — They 
sacrifice to the Virgin all who are cast away upon their 
shores, as well as every Greek they can find, or who visits 
their coasts. Having performed the preparatory rites, they 
knock the victim on the head with a club. Some say that 
they cut off the head, and fix it on a cross, and then pre- 
cipitate the body from the height on which the temple stands. 
Others, agreeing in what relates to the head, deny that the 
body is thrown from the precipice ; and affirm that it is in- 
terred. The Taurians declare that the daemon to whom they 
perform this sacrifice is Iphigenia, daughter of Agamemnon. 
Those of their enemies whom they take in battle, they de- 
capitate, and carry the heads home with them. The head is 
transfixed on a pole, which is set up on the, top of the house, 
and most often on the chimney. And they say that these 
heads are elevated in this manner as the guardians of the 
entire habitation. These people subsist upon the spoils of 
war. The Agathyrses are a luxurious people, and wear a 
profusion of gold. They disregard the laws of marriage, and 
live promiscuously without jealousy or envy. In their other 
customs they approach to the usages of the Thracians. 
(104) x 3 



310 NEURIANS: MELANCHLJSANS. 

The Neurians follow the Scythian mode of life. In the 
generation preceding that of the Persian invasion, it happened 
to them to be driven from their country by serpents, of which 
a vast multitude appeared in their lands ; — a great proportion 
coming from the deserts above them. Thus expelled from 
their homes, they established themselves among the Budians. 
It seems these people are enchanters ; and it is affirmed by the 
Scythians, as well as by the Greeks settled in Scythia, that 
during a few days in each year, every Neurian becomes a 
wolf; after which he resumes his proper form. But for my 
own part I cannot credit such a story, although they affirm 
nothing less, and support their assertion with an oath. The 
Androphages (canibals) are of all mankind the most ferocious 
in their manners. — They pay no regard to the common laws 
of right ; indeed they observe no laws whatever. They are 
nomadic. Their dress is similar to that of the Scythians: 
their langnage is peculiar to themselves, and they alone of all 
these nations eat the flesh of man. 

The Meianchlaeans derive their name from their apparel, 
which is invariably black ; their customs are the same as those 
of the Scythians. The Budians are a great and populous 
nation. They (paint their bodies) a fierce blue and red. In 
their country there is a city built entirely of wood : it is called 
Gelonus ; each side of its walls measures thirty furlongs : the 
walls are wooden, and of great height. The houses also, and 
the temples are of wood. There are at Gelonus temples de- 
dicated to the Grecian gods, furnished after the Grecian 
fashion with images, altars, and chapels; and these also 
formed of wood ; and here, once in three years, they cele- 
brate the feast of Bacchus, with its accustomed orgies ; for 
the people of this city are of Greek extraction, who having 
been expelled from the maritime towns, settled among the 
Budians ; and their language is a mixture of the Greek and 
Scythian tongues. The Budians differ from these Gelonians 
both in language and mode of life ; for they being the abo- 
rigines are nomadic, and alone among these nations devour 
vermin. But the Gelonians cultivate the soil, and subsist on 
grain, and have gardens: nor do the two races at all resemble 

(109) 



BUDjANS: SAUROMATIANS. 311 

each other in appearance or complexion. The Greeks err 
therefore in calling the Budians— Gelonians. Their country 
is throughout thickly covered with trees of every kind. In 
the midst of a dense forest is a spacious and profound lake, 
with an extent of marsh, surrounded by reeds, and here 
are taken otters, beavers, and other square-faced animals, 
the skins of which serve for edgings to cloaks ; and a part 
extracted from their bodies, is used medicinally. 

Of the Sauromatians the following particulars are related. — 
When the Greeks had fought the Amazons, whom the Scy- 
thians call Oiorpata — a word signifying — manslayers ; for. 
oior means a man, and pata to kill. I say, when the 
Greeks had, as they affirm vanquished the Amazons in battle 
at the Thermodon, they returned, bringing with them, in three 
ships, all the Amazons they had been able to take alive. 
But when they stood out to sea, these captives slaughtered 
the men, and then, knowing nothing of the management of a 
ship, nor of the use of the rudder, the sails, and the oars, 
they were borne along by the winds and waves. Thus driven, 
they reached the shores of the Cremnians on the Palus 
Moeotis. These people are included within the territory of 
the free (royal) Scythians. The Amazons going ashore, 
marched forward to the inhabited part of the country, and 
seizing the first herd of horses they met with, mounted, them, 
and ravaged the lands of the Scythians. The Scythians 
knew not what to think of them, for they were unacquainted 
with the language and dress of the invaders, and could neither 
guess what nation they belonged to, nor whence they came. 
From their stature and gait, supposing them to be men, they 
gave them battle, and only when they saw them slain on the 
field, perceived that they were women. They resolved there- 
fore no more to attack them as enemies, but to depute a sufficient 
number of Scythians to encamp near them — to watch their 
movements — to retire rather than fight when pursued, and 
gradually to gain acquaintance with them. This was effected 
by degrees, the two camps approached, and at length the 
Scythians and the Amazons became acquainted, the latter 
consenting to become the wives of the former. Thus they 
UL12) x 4 



312 THE AMAZONS. 

lived together. The men, finding it impracticable to learn 
the language of the Amazons, taught them their own, and 
when sufficiently versed in it, the men thus addressed their 
wives — " We have parents and possessions. Let us therefore 
no longer lead this kind of life ; but let us return and live 
together with our kindred ; and you — and you alone, shall 
be our wives." To this the women replied — "We cannot 
dwell with your women ; for their habits and ours are not at 
all similar. We use the bow and the javelin, and ride on 
horse-back, and are ignorant of all female employments. 
But they do none of those things to which we are habituated ; 
on the contrary, they sit at home in their waggons, busied 
in womanish labours, nor ever follow the chace, nor go 
abroad. We could not therefore by any means consort with 
them. But now if you would retain us as your wives, and if 
you wish to act towards us like honest men, go to your 
parents, receive your share of their possessions, and then 
return and live with us." 

The men yielding to this proposal acted accordingly, and 
having taken the portion of goods that fell to them, returned 
to the Amazons, who thus addressed them — " Fear and dread 
are upon us when we think of dwelling in this country, both 
because we have deprived you of your fathers, and because 
we have so greatly ravaged your lands. But now, as you 
think good to make us your wives, arise, and go with us out of 
the country, and we will settle beyond the Tana'is." The Scy- 
thians consented to this proposal also ; and altogether passed 
the Tanais, and journied eastward three days beyond the 
river, and three days also northward of the Palus Maeotis ; 
there they established themselves in the district which they 
still occupy. Ever since that time the wives of the Sauro- 
matians have maintained their ancient mode of life — pursuing 
the chase on horseback, sometimes with, and sometimes with- 
out their husbands: they also go out to war, and are habited 
in the same manner as the men. The Sauromatians speak the 
Scythian language, but have received it from their ancestors 
incorrectly, owing to the imperfect manner in which the 
Amazons first learned it. An established rule among them 

(117) 



SCYTHIAN EMBASSY. # 313 

forbids a woman to marry until she has slain a man in battle. 
Some women therefore become old before they marry, not 
having been able to satisfy the law.] 



SECTION VIII. 

RETREAT OF THE PERSIANS FROM SCYTH1A. 

The Scythian messengers arrived where the kings of the 
nations above-mentioned were assembled, and informed 
them that the Persian, after having conquered all the 
nations of the other continent (Asia) had thrown a bridge 
over the Bosphorus, and had passed over into this con- 
tinent. — That having effected his passage, he had van- 
quished the Thracians, and formed a bridge over the 
Ister, with the intention of seizing for himself all their 
lands. " You, therefore," said they, "must by no means 
sit by and see us ruined ; but rather feeling with us, join 
us to oppose the invader. If you refuse to do so, we, 
pressed by him, shall either abandon our country, or if we 
remain, accept conditions from him. For what else should 
we do if you are unwilling to aid us. Nor shall you then 
find yourselves in an easy situation ; for the Persian ad- 
vances not more against us than against you ; nor after 
subduing us will he leave you alone. Of the truth of 
what we affirm we can give you a sufficient proof. — If 
indeed the Persian had purposed to make war upon us 
only in revenge of the servitude in which formerly we 
held them, he would have avoided war with any other 
people, and so have marched directly into our country; 
thereby making it manifest to all that his invasion was 
(118) 



314 COUNCIL OF KINGS. 

directed against the Scythians only. But now, instead of 
doing so, he had no sooner passed over into this con- 
tinent, than he subjugated every people that came in his 
way. Already has he reduced the rest of the Thracians, 
and even our near neighbours the Getes." 

The assembled kings deliberated upon this commu- 
nication, and their Opinions were divided. — The kings of 
the Gelonians, of the Budians, and of the Sauromates, 
agreed in consenting to aid the Scythians. While the 
king of the Agathyrses, of the Neurians, of the Andro- 
phages, the kings of the Melanchlseans, and of the Tau- 
rians, thus" replied to the Scythian ambassadors: — "If 
you had not first injured the Persians, and been the 
authors of the war, what you now ask would seem to us 
reasonable, and we should yield to your will, and act in 
concert with you. But in fact you invaded their country, 
in which invasion we had no share ; and you held power 
over the Persian so long as it was permitted to you by the 
god ; and now they, incited by the same god, shall render 
to you what you gave to them. For ourselves, as we did 
not then injure these men, so neither will we now attempt 
to do them ill. Yet should the Persian advance upon 
our lands, and so become the aggressor, we shall no 
longer stand still. Meanwhile we shall keep ourselves 
to ourselves. And we are of opinion that the Persian 
comes not against us, but only against those who were the 
authors of wrong." 

When these replies were reported to the Scythians, 
they resolved to avoid all kinds of open and direct warfare 
with the enemy, especially as their allies came not to 
their assistance : but to recede and to draw off covertly ; 
and on their way to fill up all the wells and fountains, 
and to trample down all the produce of the earth. To 
effect these objects, they divided their army into two 
bodies. With one of these divisions — commanded by 
Scopasis, were joined the Sauromates, and these— if the 

(120) 



MEASURES OF THE SCYTHIANS. 315 

Persian took that course, were to retreat directly towards 
the Tanais, along the shores of the Palus Mseotis ; and 
when he should retrace his steps, then they were to 
pursue him. Such was the part assigned to one division 
of the Royal Scythians. The other two, of which the 
greater was commanded by Idanthyrsus, and the other by 
Taxacis, were to be united, and to join themselves also 
to the Gelones and Budians. This combined army was 
to keep a day's march in advance of the Persians ; — still 
retreating before them, and effecting the (devastations) 
agreed upon in the council. And moreover, they were 
to draw the enemy directly towards the territories of 
those nations who -had refused their alliance, in order to 
bring the war upon them; so that, though they would 
not freely engage in the contest against the Persians, 
they might be compelled to take part in it. After this, 
they were to return into their own districts, and if on 
consultation it should seem advisable, they were to 
attack the enemy. 

Having concerted these measures, the Scythians ad- 
vanced to meet Darius, sending forwards, as scouts, the 
very best of their cavalry. Their waggons, which were 
the habitations of their children and wives, they sent 
away with all their cattle, retaining only such as were 
necessary for the subsistence of the army. This 
waggon train was directed to proceed continually to- 
wards the north. 

The advanced cavalry of the Scythians fell in with 
the Persians about three days' march from the Ister, and 
having discovered them, they formed their own camp at 
the distance of one day's journey from them: at the 
same time they destroyed the entire produce of the earth 
in the neighbourhood. The Persians no sooner saw the 
Scythian horse, than they followed their track, while 
these continually retired. Thus they pursued that body 
of the Scythians which took the eastern road, towards 
(122) 



316 ADVANCE OF THE PERSIANS. 

the Tanais. This river the Scythians passed — the Per- 
sians still pursuing-, till having traversed the territory 
of the Sauromates, they arrived in the country of the 
Budians. 

All the time that the Persians were passing through 
the Scythian and Sauromatian lands, they met with no- 
thing to pillage ; for the, whole region was utterly waste. 
And when they arrived in the country of the Budians, 
they discovered the wooden town, deserted of its inha- 
bitants, and emptied of every article. After burning the 
town, they continued to follow the track of the retreating 
Scythians. At length, having completely traversed the 
Budian lands, they reached the desert beyond that coun- 
try, which extends a distance of seven days' journey, and 
which is entirely destitute of inhabitants. Beyond the 
wilderness dwell the Thyssagetes, in whose territory four 
large rivers arise, which after watering the lands of the 
Mseotians, discharge themselves into the Palus Maeotis. 
These rivers are the Lycus, the Oarus, the Tanais, and 
the Syrgis. "When Darius reached this desert, he halted 
on his march, and established his army on the banks of 
the Oarus. There he constructed eight spacious for- 
tresses, with an interval between each of about sixty 
furlongs. The ruins of these structures remained in my 
time. While he was thus occupied, the Scythians whom 
he had pursued, making a circuit through the upper 
country, returned to Scythia. These disappearing so 
completely that they could be no more seen, Darius 
abandoned the fortifications in an unfinished state, and 
himself turned his march in a westerly direction, sup- 
posing that the Scythians he had followed constituted 
the entire nation, and that they had fled towards the 
west. 

Advancing by rapid marches, he arrived in Scythia, 
and there fell in with the two combined divisions of 
the Scythian army. He pursued them; but they still 

(125) 



PERPLEXITY OF DARIUS. 317 

kept a day's march before him. As he desisted not from 
the pursuit, the Scythians put in practice their original 
plan, and retired into the territory of those who had 
refused to aid them. First they retreated among the 
Melanchlaeans, who by this means were annoyed by the 
incursion of both armies. Then they led the war into 
the lands of the Androphages, troubling them, and next 
retired into Neurida. When the Neurians had sus- 
tained this disturbance, the Scythians fled towards the 
Agathyrses. These people, seeing their neighbours dis- 
tractedly fleeing before the Scythians, sent a herald to 
them before they had entered their country, forbidding 
them to transgress their borders, and declaring that 
should they attempt to invade the Agathyrsian territory, 
they must first fight its defenders. Having made this 
declaration, the Agathyrses advanced to protect their 
frontiers, determined to repel the intruders. As for the 
Melanchlaeans, the Androphages, and the Neurians, when 
they saw themselves invaded by both the Persians and the 
Scythians, they made no stand against either, but for- 
getful of their former menaces, retreated further and still 
further north. 

The Scythians, when they found that the Agathyrses 
interdicted their advance, did not proceed ; but leaving 
the Neurians, led the Persians into Scythia. This mode 
of proceeding had now been adhered to a long time ; at 
length Darius despatched a horseman to the Scythian 
king Idanthyrsus, with the following message :— " Infa- 
tuated man ! why dost thou always flee when alternatives 
are at thy option 1 If thou deemest thyself strong enough 
to contend with my forces, stand — cease thy wanderings, 
and fight. But if thou art conscious of inferiority, 
then arrest thy .march, offer to thy lord the gifts of 
earth and water,* and come to a conference." To 

* The usual tokens of submission. 

(126) 



318 REPLY OF 1DANTHYRSUS. 

this challenge the Scythian king-, Idanthyrsus, thus 
replied : — 

" Persian ! know that I have never fled in fear from 
any man ; nor do I now so flee from thee. Nor do I act 
otherwise (in thus wandering about) than I am accus- 
tomed to do even in time of peace. Why I have not 
ere this given thee battle, I will explain: — we possess 
neither towns nor cultivated lands which we should fear 
might be captured and ravaged, and which might induce 
us hastily to engage with thee. But now if at any rate 
it must be that we fight — we have the sepulchres of our 
fathers : — come on — find them — attempt to disturb them ; 
and then shall ye know whether, for the tombs of our 
ancestors we will fight or not. Meanwhile, unless we see 
reason to alter our purpose, we shall not give thee battle. 
Let this serve for an answer to thy challenge to fight. 
And now know that the only masters I acknowledge are 
Jupiter, my ancestor, and Vesta, queen of the Scythians. 
Instead of the gifts of earth and water, I send thee such as 
befit thee. — And thou callest thyself my lord ! I tell thee, 
weep thy misfortunes !" — This (last) was a Scythian phrase : 
— such was the message brought by the herald to Darius. 

The Scythian kings had been filled with rage at the 
mere mention of servitude ; and they instructed that divi- 
sion of the army with which the Sauromates were joined, 
and which was under the command of Scopacis, to pro- 
ceed towards the Ister, and to confer with the Ionians, 
who guarded the bridge over that river. For themselves 
who remained, they resolved no longer to lead the Per- 
sians from place to place, but to fall upon them every 
time they knew them to be taking their food. Having 
observed the time when the army of Darius was so 
occupied, they executed their project. The Scythian 
horse constantly put to flight the Persian cavalry, which 
yet saved itself by falling back upon the infantry ; 
for the infantry failed not to afford them support. And 

(128) 



STRATAGEMS OF THE SCYTHIANS. 319 

the Scythians, after driving in the enemy, turned about in 
fear of the infantry. The Scythians made similar as- 
saults by night. 

A remarkable circumstance occurred in these attacks 
upon the camp of Darius, which proved advantageous to 
the Persians, and equally injurious to the Scythians. — 
This was the terror given to the Scythian horses by the 
braying of the asses, and the appearance of the mules ; 
for, as I have before said, neither asses nor mules are 
bred or kept in Scythia on account of the frosts. The 
insolence of the asses so terrified the Scythian horses, 
that, often, when the cavalry was advancing to charge, 
the Persians, in mid-way, if the horses chanced to hear 
the braying of the asses, they were panic struck, and 
pricking their ears, turned about ; having never before- 
heard the sound, or seen the form of those animals. In 
some small degree the fortune of the war was affected >y 
this circumstance. 

The Scythians perceiving the embarrasment of the 
Persians, (or seeing a great movement as if of departure) 
and wishing to prolong their stay, that they might be 
still further tormented with all the miseries of fa- 
mine, adopted the following course ; — Leaving some 
of their cattle under the care of keepers, they them- 
selves withdrew to a distance : the Persians then 
coming up, seized them eagerly. This was often re- 
peated ; at length Darius found himself in a state of 
destitution, and the Scythian kings informed of their 
distress, sent a herald, bearing as gifts to Darius, a bird, 
a mouse, a frog, and five arrows. The Persians inquired 
of the herald what might be the meaning of these gifts ; 
but he replied that he had been charged only to de- 
liver them, and to return instantly; and he advised 
them, if they were wise, to divine the intention of the 
presents. The Persians thereupon held a consultation. 
The opinion of Darius was that the Scythians meant by 
(132) 



320 APPLICATION TO THE IONIANS. 

these gifts to offer him earth and water. He conjec- 
tured this because the mouse lives in the earth, and 
subsists on the same food as man ; while the frog inhabits 
the water: — the bird he thought prefigured the horse; 
and the arrows signified that the Scythians surrendered 
their military strength. Such was the opinion enter- 
tained by Darius. But to this, Gobryas — one of the seven 
who had removed the Mage, opposed his own: his con- 
jectures relative to the Scythian gifts he thus expressed — 
" Unless like birds, Persians, you soar to heaven, or 
like mice you delve into the earth, or like frogs you hop 
into the lakes, you shall never return to your homes ; but 
shall be smitten with these arrows." Thus also the {other) 
Persians interpreted the gifts. 

That division of the Scythian army which at first had 
been directed to keep near the Palus Maeotis, and after- 
wards to proceed to the Ister, in order to communicate 
with the Ionians, when they arrived at the bridge thus 
addressed the Greeks — " Men of Ionia ! we come bearing 
w h us emancipation for you, provided only that you 
will listen to us. We are informed that Darius has 
commanded you to guard the bridge sixty days only ; and 
if, at the expiration of that time, he does not present 
himself, has allowed you to depart to your homes. Now 
if you adhere to these instructions, you will be blameless 
in regard to him, and also towards us. Wait the ap- 
pointed time, and then depart." The Ionians engaging 
to comply with this advice, the Scythians instantly 
wheeled off. 

After the presents just mentioned had been sent to 
Darius, the remaining Scythian force, both horse and 
foot, arranged themselves in battle array against the 
Persians. While they were waiting in their ranks, it 
chanced that a hare ran mid- way between the two armies. 
Forthwith the Scythians who. saw it pursued the animal 
in disorder, uttering loud cries. Darius inquired the 

(134) 



RETREAT OF THE PERSIANS. 321 

cause of the tumult in the ranks of the enemy, and when 
informed that they were following a hare, he said to those 
about him, with whom he was accustomed to converse 
freely — " These men hold us in great contempt, and I 
think the interpretation which Gobryas put upon the 
gifts was the true one. Now therefore, as we also are of 
this opinion, we feel the need of good counsel to show how 
a safe retreat may be , recovered." To this Gobryas re- 
plied — " O kingj from report, I had scarcely formed an 
idea of the destitution of these men* But now coming 
among them, I have become better informed ; especially by 
seeing how they can make sport of us. Now therefore it 
seems to me, that as soon as night closes, we should 
kindle our fires as we are accustomed to do ; and then, 
having by some guile hidden our purpose from that part 
of the army that is the least capable of undergoing ex- 
cessive fatigue, and having also bound all the asses, we 
should take our departure before either the Scythians 
march to the Ister and destroy the bridge, or the Ionians 
adopt some measures that shall be fatal to us." 

Darius assented to the proposal, and as soon as night 
came on, all those in the army who were the most ex- 
hausted with fatigue, and the loss of whom would be the 
least regretted, he left in the camp, and also caused all 
the asses to be bound : these he left, in order that their 
braying might be heard : and in leaving the infirm part 
of the army, he used the pretext that they were to guard 
the camp, while he, with the flower of the army, made a 
sudden assault upon the Scythians. Having practised 
this deception upon those who were to be abandoned, and 
kindled the fires, Darius drew off towards the Ister with 
the greatest possible speed. The asses finding themselves 
deserted by their wonted companions, uttered so much 
the louder brayings, and the Scythians hearing the noise, 
confidently supposed that the Persians remained in their 
station. 
(135) X 



322 CONFERENCE OF THE SCYTHIANS 

When day appeared, the men left in the camp dis- 
covering that they had been betrayed by Darius, extended 
their hands towards the Scythians, and made such pro- 
fessions as suited their circumstances. On learning what 
had taken place the two divisions instantly joined the 
third, and being accompanied by the Sauromates, the 
Budians, and the Gelones, pursued the Persians directly 
to the Ister, But as the greater part of the Persian 
army was infantry, and as moreover they were unac- 
quainted with the way, the Scythians being on horse-back, 
and taking the shortest course, missed their enemy, and 
arrived at the bridge long before them. When they 
arrived, finding that the Persians had not yet come, they 
thus addressed the Ionians on board their ships — ** Men 
of Ionia ! the number of the days appointed to you is 
expired.— You do not do well in staying here longer. 
But if hitherto your fears have detained you, now break 
up the bridge, and as quickly as possible go hence, rejoic- 
ing in your freedom, and giving thanks to the gods of 
Scythia. As for the man who once was your lord, we 
will so deal with him that he shall nev'er again make war 
upon any people." 

The Ionians held a consultation upon this proposition, 
when Miltiades the Athenian, who commanded the forces 
of his government — the Hellespontine Chersonese, ad- 
vised to yield to the wishes of the Scythians, and to 
emancipate Ionia. But Histiaeus of Miletus advanced an 
opposite opinion — " It is," said he, " only from Darius 
that we hold the government of our several cities, and if 
the power of Darius is destroyed, I shall no longer be 
able to rule the Milesians, nor you any of your people ; 
for the people of every state would prefer a democracy to 
a tyranny." Histiaeus had no sooner uttered this opinion, 
than he gained over all who at first had adopted that of 
Miltiades. Those who gave their votes on this side were 
{then, or afterwards) in high esteem with the king. The 

(138) 



with the ionians. 323 

chiefs present were — of the Hellespontine tyrants — 
Daphnis of Abydos ; Hippoclus of Lampsacus ; Hero- 
phantus of Parium ; Metrodorus of Proconnesus ; Aris- 
tagoras of Cyzicus ; and Ariston of Byzantium. From 
Ionia — Strattis of Chios ; ^Eaces of Samos ; Laodamas 
of Phocaea ; and Histiseus of Miletus, who opposed the 
opinion of Miltiades. Of the iEolians no man of import- 
ance was present except Aristagoras of Cyme. 

These chiefs having adopted the advice of Histiseus, 
resolved moreover, in the first place, to break up the foot 
of the bridge on the Scythian side, to the, distance of an 
arrow's shot from the bank, in order that while in fact 
they did nothing, they might seem to be complying with 
the wish of the Scythians, and at the same time might 
prevent them from attempting to force the bridge. 
In the next place, it was determined to send a mes- 
sage, assuring them that in breaking up the bridge on 
the Scythian side, they were making progress towards an 
entire compliance with their pleasure. These resolutions 
taken, Histiseus thus addressed the Scythians in the 
name of his colleagues : — " Scythians ! you bring good 
advice, and urge it seasonably. And as you point out to 
us an advantageous course, so we shall not fail to consul}; 
your interests. We are, as you see, breaking up the 
bridge, and with the utmost assiduity shall go on, im- 
pelled by the desire of freedom. Now while we are thus 
occupied it will be your time for seeking the Persians, 
and having found them, you will at once avenge upon 
them our quarrel, and your own, as they deserve." 

The Scythians confiding in the sincerity of the Ionians, 
took their departure in quest of the Persians; but again 
followed another route and missed them. The error was 
attributable to the Scythians themselves; for had they 
not destroyed the pastures, and stopped the wells, they 
would inevitably have met the Persians ; but now their 
own calculations of what was probable misled them — 
(140) Y 2 



o24 ESCAPE OF THE PERSIANS. 

They imagined that the Persians would return through 
the district in which forage for the horses and water 
were still to be found ; and in that district they sought 
for them. But the Persians held to the track they had 
formerly passed, and so, though with great difficulty, at 
length reached the bridge. It was night when they 
arrived at the place, and finding the {foot of the) bridge 
broken up, were seized with extreme dismay in the fear 
that the Ionians had abandoned them, 

There was in attendance upon Darius a certain Egyp- 
tian—a man incomparable for the power of his voice. 
This person was commanded by the king to stand on the 
brink, and to call for Histiseus the Milesian. He did so, 
and Histeeus hearing the first shout, brought up all the 
whole fleet for transporting the army; and he also joined 
the bridge to the shore. Thus the Persians escaped, 
while the Scythians again erred in their search for them. 
On account of their behaviour in this instance, the Scy- 
thians are wont to fling reproaches against the Ionians, 
saying that if the Ionians are indeed freemen, then must 
they be condemned as of all mankind the most base and 
cowardly; but if they are slaves, then may they be 
thought of all slaves the most attached to their masters 
and the most obsequious. 

After proceeding through Thrace, Darius reached Ses- 
tos of the Chersonese, where he embarked and passed 
over to Asia, having appointed Megabazus, a Persian, to 
command the army left in Europe. It was the same 
Megabazus whom Darius had on some former occasion 
honoured in presence of all the Persians by a speech 
much to his credit. The king being about to eat some 
pomegranates, when he opened the first, his brother Ar- 
tabanus asked him what it might be of which he would 
wish to possess as many as there were grains in the 
fruit. Darius replied — " As many of Megabazus ; yes, 
rather would he have so many such as he, than be lord 

(143) 



CYRENE AND BARCA. 325 

of Greece." So great was the esteem in which this 
general was held among the Persians. Eighty thousand 
men were left under his command in Thrace. Megabazus 
left himself a lasting fame among the Hellespontines by 
a sentiment he once ^uttered at Byzantium. On being 
told that the Chalcedonians had founded their city in this 
country seventeen years before the Byzantines had 
appropriated the site they now occupy, he said — " At 
that time certainly the Chalcedonians must have 
been blind ; for otherwise they could never have fixed 
upon a spot so dismal when one so fair might have been 
chosen." With the forces left under his command, Mega- 
bazus subdued those of the Hellespontines who before 
had not favoured the Medes, (Persians.) 



SECTION IX. 

EARLY HISTORY OF CYRENE AND BARCA. 

About the same time a large force was sent into 
Libya, the occasion of which I shall relate, after giving 
some preliminary information. 

[The descendants of the Argonauts having been expelled 
from Lemnos by those Pelasgians who carried off the Athe- 
nian women from Brauron, came to Lacedaemon, and pitched 
their tents on Mount Tagetus, where they kindled fires. The 
Lacedaemonians seeing their lights, sent a messenger to inquire 
who and whence they were. They answered, this messenger 
that — " They were Minyans — sons of the heroes who sailed in 
the ship Argo, and who touching at Lemnos, left there sons, 
from whom themselves were descended." When the Lace- 
(145) Y 3 



326 THERAS AND THE 

daenionians were informed of the origin of these Minyans, they 
sent a second time to ask what they meant in coming into 
the country, and in kindling fires. They replied that having 
been expelled by the Pelasgians, they came to their fathers 
(the Lacedaemonians) which was a justifiable course for them 
to take. And they requested leave to dwell with them, 
sharing the dignities of the state, as well as the property of 
lands. The Lacedaemonians consented to admit the Minyans 
on the terms proposed — influenced chiefly by this — that the 
Tyndarides (Castor and Pollux) were in the Argonautic expe- 
dition. The Minyans were therefore received ; lands were 
assigned to them, they were distributed among the tribes, they 
took Spartan wives, and dismissed those they brought from 
Lemnos. 

A short time only had elapsed before the Minyans dis- 
played their arrogance by making themselves competitors for 
the supreme power, and also by other iniquitious proceedings. 
The Lacedaemonians decreed therefore to put them to death; 
with this view they were apprehended and thrown into prison. 
— The Lacedaemonians never execute criminals by day, always 
by night. While therefore the prisoners were awaiting exe- 
cution, their wives who were Spartan citizens, and daughters 
of the principal men of the state, asked permission to enter 
the prison, and converse with their husbands. No fraud 
being supposed, permission was granted. They had no sooner 
entered, than they exchanged all their clothing with their 
husbands, who in this disguise passed out. Having thus 
escaped, they again posted themselves on Mount Taygetus. 

About the same time Theras, son of Autesion, son of Tisa- 
menus, son of Thersander, son of Polynices, set out from 
Lacedaemon to found a colony. Theras was by descent a 
Cadmean, and maternal uncle to Eurysthenes and Procles, 
the sons of Aristodemus. During the minority of these youths, 
he was regent at Sparta ; but when they attained manhood, 
and assumed the government, Theras having once tasted the 
sweets of power, could not brook subjection to his nephews. 
He professed his determination therefore not to remain at 
Lacedaemon, but to embark and go to his kindred. In the 

(147) 



MINYANS. 327 

island now called Thera, but then Callista, there dwelt the 
descendants of Membliares, son of Poeciles, a Phoenician. For 
when Cadmus, son of Agenorus, was in quest of Europa, he put 
in at this island — because the place pleased him, or for some 
other reason ; and he left there several Phoenicians, among 
whom was his kinsman Membliares. These Phoenicians occu- 
pied the island Callista during eight generations, before Theras 
arrived from Lacedaemon. He came leading with him many 
of the people drawn from the tribes, whom he intended to 
establish in the island — not by expelling its inhabitants, but by 
forming with them the most friendly association. 

The Minyans who had escaped from prison, and stationed 
themselves on Mount Taygetus, were by the decree of the 
Lacedaemonians still devoted to destruction. But Theras 
then about to depart, entreated that none should be put to 
death, and engaged to conduct them out of the country. The 
proposition was assented to by the Lacedaemonians, and three 
thirty-oared galleys proceeded with them to join the descen- 
dants of Membliares. Yet it was but a few of the Minyans 
who followed Theras ; for the greater number turned upon the 
Paroreates and Caucons whom they drove from their lands* 
and then separated into six companies, each of which built a 
town. The names of these towns were Lempreum, Macistus, 
Phrixas, Pyrgus, Epium, and Nudium. The greater part of 
these settlements have in my time been overthrown. The 
island in which Theras established himself has since retained 
his name. 

The son of Theras refused to sail with his father, who there- 
fore said that he would leave him as a sheep among wolves. 
Prom this speech the youth acquired the sir-name of CEolycus,* 
and that appellation prevailed over his first name. CEolycus 
had a son named iEgeus, and from him a numerous tribe in 
Sparta derives its designation. The men of this tribe were 
bereaved of their children, and (to avert the calamity) at the 
command of an oracle, they reared a temple dedicated to the 
Furies of Laius and CEdipus. From that time they no longer 

* Ois sheep ; lycus wolf. 

(149) y 4 



328 COLONY FOUNDED BY 

lost their children. A like event happened to their descend- 
ants in the island Thera. 

So far the accounts of the Lacedaemonians support those 
of the Theraeans ; but for the following particulars I have 
the authority of the latter people only. Grinus son of JEsa- 
nius, descendant of Theras, and king of the island of the same 
name, came to Delphi to offer there a hecatomb on behalf of 
his country. Among the Theraeans who followed him on this 
occasion was Battus, son of Polymnestus, of the family of 
Euphernides, one of the Minyans. ~ As the king of Thera was 
consulting the oracle on certain matters, the Pythian pro- 
nounced these words — " Found in Lybia a city." To which 
he replied — O supreme power ! I am already an old man, 
and bear up heavily under the weight of years. Command 
therefore some one of these youths to execute what you 
enjoin :" — as he spoke he pointed to Battus. This was all 
that then took place. And on the return of the deputation no 
regard was paid to the command of the oracle, for the The- 
raeans neither knew where Libya was, nor could venture under 
such ignorance to send out a colony. But during the seven 
following years, no rain fell at Thera, and every tree 
in the island, except one, withered. When the Theraeans 
consulted the oracle, the Pythian again mentioned — " The 
Libyan colony." (On their return) the Theraeans still 
finding no relief to their misery, sent messengers to Crete 
to discover if any Cretan or any sojourner in the island 
had ever visited Libya. These messengers, as they roved 
through the island, came to Itanus, where they formed ac- 
quaintance with a purple-dyer, named Corobius, who affirmed 
that he had once been driven by contrary winds upon the coast 
of Lybia, and had visited the island Platea, on that shore. By 
means of a gift, they persuaded this man to return with them to 
Thera. A small number of persons first sent out to explore 
the coast, were conducted by Corobius to the island Platea. 
There they left him with provisions for some months, while 
they returned directly to Thera with news of the island. 

The prescribed time had long passed by — the Theraeans did 
not return to Platea, and Corobius was reduced to starvation, 

(152; 



THE THERjEANS. 329 

when a Samian vessel — the master's name was Colaeus — on 
its way to Egypt, put in at the island. Corobius related his 
story, and the Samians left him provisions for a year. Then 
weighing anchor, they endeavoured to make their way to 
Egypt, but were encountered by an easterly wind, which not 
abating, carried them beyond the Pillars of Hercules, and 
under a divine guidance they reached Tartessus : — that port 
had then never before been approached. On their return 
home, they realized larger profits from their cargo than any 
Greeks known of had ever gained, excepting perhaps Sostra- 
tus, son of Laodomon, of JEgina, with whom no one can 
compete. The Samians setting apart six talents, which were 
a tenth of their gains, formed a brazen vase, in the Argolic 
fashion ; around its rim were the heads of griffins arranged in 
a quincunx. This vase they dedicated in the temple of 
Juno : — it is supported by three colossal brazen figures, seven 
cubits high, in a kneeling posture. Ever since that time both 
the Cyrenaeans and the Theraeans have cultivated strict friend- 
ship with the Samians. 

The Theraeans, after they left Corobius on the island, re- 
turned and announced to their countrymen that " they pos- 
sessed a colony founded on an island off the Libyan coast." 
The Theraeans then resolved, that throughout the seven dis- 
tricts of the island, a man should be taken from every family 
by lot to be sent to the settlement ; and that Battus should be 
their leader and king. Thus they fitted out two fifty-oared 
galleys for Platea. Such is the narrative of the Theraeans, 
and so far they agree with the Cyrenaeans ; but the latter by 
no means assent to what relates to Battus ; for they tell the 
story as follows : — At Axus, a city of Crete, reigned Ete- 
archus, whose daughter Phronima, having lost her mother, he 
married again. The new wife no sooner entered the palace, 
than she thought proper to behave as a very step-mother to 
Phronima, against whom she plotted every possible mischief, 
and at length accused her to the king of the most flagitious 
conduct. Ie, prevailed on by his wife, devised a most 
unrighteo y again; lis daughter. There was then at 

Axus a 1 i jh merchant araed Themison. Him Etearchus 
(154) 



330 B ATT US AND 

entertained at his palace, and made him swear to perform for 
him whatever service he should require. Then he committed 
to him his daughter, enjoining the man to take her away and 
cast her into the sea. But Themison, indignant at having 
been deceived in the oath he had taken, renounced the bonds 
of hospitality with Etearchus. Then taking the damsel, he 
departed, and when he reached the open sea, in order to rid 
himself of the obligation of the oath, he let her down into 
the sea by ropes, and drew her up again, and took her to 
Thera. 

At Thera Phronima was taken by Polymnestus — a man of 
distinction in the island, to whom she bore a son, who he- 
sitated and stuttered in speaking. He was named Battus* 
according both to the Theraeans and Cyrenaeans ; but I am in- 
clined to think that they speak of different persons, and that 
he of whom the former make mention acquired the name 
Battus, after his arrival in Libya, from the Delphian oracle, 
and from the dignity he sustained, for among the Libyans 
Battus is the designation of a king; and I think that the 
Pythian knowing that he would reign in Libya, called him 
Battus, thus using a Libyan word. The circumstance to 
which I refer was this : — When Battus had attained manhood, 
he came to Delphi to inquire concerning the defect in his utter- 
ance, and received an answer in these words : — 

f Thou coraest of speech to ask ; but Phoebus seuds 
Battus to Libya : — so the god intends, 
Whose clime the shepherd's toil so much befriends." 

As if the Pythian (instead of using the Libyan word Battus) 
had said in Greek — " O king, thou comest," &c. Battus thus 
replied — " O supreme disposer ! I did indeed come to inquire 
concerning my speech ; but you, instead of replying, command 
things impracticable, enjoining me to colonize Libya. By 
what force then ? with what bands ?" Yet these remon- 
strances moved not the Pythian, who would only give him the 
the same response, he therefore departed and returned to 
Thera. 

(155) 



THE THBRJSANS. 331 

But afterwards new calamities befel not only Battus, but 
the other Theraeans ; and they, not perceiving the cause of 
their misfortunes, sent to Delphi to inquire concerning the 
impending ills. The Pythian replied — " It would go better 
with them when with Battus they had founded Cyrene in 
Libya." The Theraeans therefore despatched Battus with 
two fifty-oared galleys ; but these, after proceeding to Libya, 
having no object in view, returned to Thera. The Theraeans 
attacked them, nor would suffer them to approach the land, 
but ordered them to return whence they came. They, thus 
necessitated, returned and formed a settlement on the island 
called, as I before said, Platea, which lies off the Libyan 
continent : it is said to be equal in size to the present city 
of the Cyrenaeans. Two years they occupied the island ; 
but as none of their affairs prospered, they left one of 
their number behind, while all the others set sail for Delphi, 
where they presented themselves at the temple, and declared 
that although they had settled in Libya, they had experienced 
no favourable turn in their affairs. The reply of the Pythian 
was as follows : — 

" Wise I should deem you, if though never there, 
Better than I, who have, you could declare 
The Libyan lands, which flocks so richly bear." 

Battus and his followers again returned, finding that the 
god did not hold them discharged from the duty of founding a 
colony until they should settle upon Libya itself. When 
therefore they reached the island, they took on board the men 
they had left, and founded a town on the Libyan main, oppo- 
site to the island, at a place named Aziris, which was enclosed 
on two sides agreeably by wood-covered hills, and on the 
other by a river. Here they dwelt six years; but in the 
seventh, on the entreaty of the Libyans, who promised to lead 
them to a better site, they left it. Having thus displaced the 
colonists, the Libyans led them towards the west ; and lest 
the Greeks should see the most beautiful part of the country, 
they so arranged the time of 'their journey, as that they 
(158) 



332 CYRENE. 

should pass through it during the night. The name of the 
district which they by this means concealed is Irasa. When 
they had proceeded as far as a certain spring, said to be 
consecrated to Apollo, they thus spoke — " Here Greeks you 
may commodiously dwell, for here the heavens are opened to 
you." 



SECTION X. 

LATER HISTORY OF CYRENE AND BARCA. 

During the life of Battus, the founder, who governed the 
state forty years, and also during that of his son Arcesilas, 
who reigned sixteen years, the Cyrenaeans remained in number 
the same as when the colony was planted. But under their 
third king Battus, called the fortunate, the Pythian excited 
Greeks of all the states to sail for Libya, and take fellowship 
with the Cyrenaeans, who indeed invited them to come and 
divide the lands with them. The words of the oracle were 
these : — 

" He will too late repent who now refrains 
To take a share on Libya's lovely plains." 

A crowd of Greeks repaired to Cyrene, and divided off for 
themselves a large tract of country. The neighbouring Libyans 
with their king Adicran, seeing themselves deprived of their 
territory, and insulted by the Cyrenaeans, sent to Apries, king 
of Egypt, tendering their allegiance. He, collecting a large 
force of Egyptians, despatched it against Cyrene. The Cyre- 
naeans formed for battle in the district of Irasa, and near the 
spring named Thesta, where they fought and conquered. For 
the Egyptians not having before tried their strength with the 
Greeks, had despised their enemy : they suffered however so 

(159) 



.4? 



KINGS OF CYRENE. 333 

severely, that only a small nnmber survived to return to 
Egypt- The Egyptians (p. 176) took such umbrage against 
their king on this occasion, that they revolted from him. 

Battus (the third king) was succeeded by his son Arcesilas, 
who presently after his accession disagreed with his brothers. 
They therefore retired into another part of Libya, where, upon 
consultation, they founded a city which they called Barca — a 
name it has retained to the present day. While engaged in 
erecting their town, they moved the Libyans to revolt against 
the Cyrenaeans. Arcesilas marched to attack both the Libyans 
who had admitted the Greeks to their friendship, and these 
revolted Greeks also. The Libyans fearing him, fled towards 
the eastern tribes of their nation : Arcesilas pursued the fugi- 
tives until he overtook them at Leucon, in Libya : there they 
resolved to engage him, and giving battle, the Cyrenaeans suf- 
fered so great an overthrow, that seven thousand of the heavy- 
armed troops were left dead on the field. After this blow, 
Arcesilas fell ill, and while under the influence of some drug, 
was strangled by his brother Learchus. But the widow of 
Arcesilas, whose name was Eryxo, by stratagem, put Learchus 
to death. 

Battus, son of Arcesilas, succeeded to the kingdom. He 
was lame and hobbling in his walk. The Cyrenaeans, afflicted 
by their late misfortune, sent to enquire at Delphi under what 
mode of government they might more happily administer their 
affairs. The Pythian commanded them to obtain from Man- 
tinea of Arcadia, an arbitrator. The Cyrenaeans accordingly 
made this request, and the Mantineans gave them one of their 
citizens, named Demonax — a man in high repute among them- 
selves. This person arriving at Cyrene, and learning the state 
of affairs, first distributed the people into three tribes ; — the 
first tribe comprising the Theraeans and their immediate neigh- 
bours ; — the second comprehended the Greeks from Pelopon- 
nesus and Crete; and the third, all those from the islands. 
Then after assigning to Battus certain precincts, together with 
the sacerdotal privileges, he remitted into the hands of the 
people all the powers hitherto vested in the kings. 

Things remained in this condition during the life of Battus ; 
(162) ^ 



334 ARCESILAS AND 

but under his son Arcesilas factious contestations arose for the 
dignities of the state. For Arcesilas, son of Battus the lame, 
and of Pheretima, declared he would no longer submit to the 
regulations established by Demonax the Mantinean, and he 
asserted the prerogatives possessed by his ancestors. Exciting 
commotions on this ground, he was vanquished and fled to 
Samos, while his mother retired to Salamis of Cyprus. Sa- 
lamis was at that time governed by Evelthon, the same who 
consecrated at Delphi an admirable censer which is placed in 
the Corinthian depositary. Pheretima presenting herself at 
the court of Evelthon, requested a body of troops by means 
of which to re-establish herself and her son at Cyrene. But 
Evelthon would give her any thing rather than an army. She, 
in accepting his presents, said — " They were indeed handsome ; 
but more handsome would be the army she had asked for." Such 
was the answer she returned after every gift. At length he 
sent her a golden spindle and distaff, with the wool, and 
when Pheretima again made the same speech, Evelthon 
replied — " These, not armies, are the gifts we offer to 
the ladies.'' 

Meanwhile Arcesilas was at Samos, where, by the promise 
of a partition of lands, he invited persons of all classes to join 
him, and collected a large force. Then he set out to Delphi 
to inquire concerning his return (to Cyrene.) The Pythian 
gave him the following answer : — " Apollo gives to four of 
Battus and to four of Arcesilas — eight generations, the kingly 
dignity at Cyrene. But advises that nothing beyond this grant 
may be attempted. For thyself, on thy return to thy country, 
be quiet. If thou findest an oven filled with jars, bake them 
not, but set them abroad. Yet if thou shalt heat the oven, 
enter not the sea-girt spot, or thou wilt die with the fattest of 
the herd." Such was the response of the Pythian to Arcesilas, 
who collecting his followers in Samos, returned to Cyrene. 
There he regained possession of the government, yet, forgetting 
the oracle, he wreaked vengeance upon the revolters who had 
before obliged him to retire. Some abandoned their country 
for ever ; others he apprehended and sent to Cyprus to be put 
to death ; but these the people of Cnidos, at which island 

(164) 



PHERETIMA. 335 

they touched, rescued, and sent to Thera. Some others of 
the Cyrenaeans taking refuge in a spacious castle, belonging to 
a private person named Aglomachus, Arcesilas piled com- 
bustibles around it, and consumed all together. Afterward 
learning from his own conduct what must have been the mean- 
ing of the oracle when the Pythian prohibited his baking the 
jars he might find in the oven, he of his own motion left 
Cyrene ; for he apprehended the predicted death, and sup- 
posed that city to be the place intended by the sea-girt spot. 
He had espoused a kins-woman — the daughter of Alizar, king 
of Barca : he therefore repaired thither. But the Barcaeans, 
with certain Cyrenaean refugees, seeing him in the public place, 
killed him, and also his father-in-law, Alazir. Thus Arce- 
silas, for disobeying the oracle, whether wilfully or not, 
accomplished his destiny. 

While Arcesilas pursued his own destruction at Barca, his 
mother Pheretima held the honours of her son, and among 
other exertions of power, she took her seat in the senate. But 
as soon as she was informed of the death of her son at Barca, 
she fled from Cyrene, and went, to Egypt ; for Cambyses was 
under obligation, on account of services rendered to him by 
her son ; for it was ArCesilas who had given up Cyrene to 
Cambyses, and had acceded to the payment of a tribute. 
When Pheretima arrived in Egypt, she supplicated Aryandes 
to avenge her — using as a pretext that her son had fallen for 
his attachment to the Medes (Persians). Aryandes had been 
appointed governor of Egypt by Cambyses, and some time 
afterwards perished for attempting to compete with Darius. 
He perceived the Persian monarch to be ambitious of leaving 
some memorial of himself, such as no other king had effected. 
Aryandes imitated him, until he received the recompense of 
his folly. Darius had coined money of gold purified to the 
highest possible degree. Aryandes governor of Egypt did 
the. same in silver; and the Ary andean money is still esteemed 
of high value. Informed of this conduct, Darius brought some 
other charge against him, implying a purpose of rebellion, and 
put him to death. 

But to return to the time of which we are speaking; — 
(167) 



336 THE LIBYAN NATIONS. 

Aryandes compassionating the misfortunes of Pheretima, 
granted her all the forces, both of land and sea that were at 
his disposal in Egypt. The land army was commanded by 
Amasis, a Maraphian, and the fleet by Badres, of the Pasar- 
gades (a Persian royal race). But before the expedition was 
sent out, Aryandes despatched a herald to Barca, to inquire 
who had put Arcesilas to death. The Barcseans took upon 
themselves universally the charge, professing that they had 
suffered great injuries from him. After receiving this answer, 
Aryandes sent out the armament with Pheretima. Such was 
the occasion that served as a pretext for the expedition, which, 
in my opinion, he undertook with the intention of conquering 
Libya. This country contains many and various nations, a 
few of which only were subject to the king; while the greater 
part paid him no kind of respect. 



SECTION XI. 

THE LIBYAN NATIONS. 

The Libyan nations are these : — We begin from Egypt, and 
the first people we meet with are the Adrymachides, who for 
the most part follow the usages of Egypt, excepting in their 
dress, which is of the Libyan fashion. The women wear a 
bracelet of brass around each leg — allow their hair to grow, 
and when they catch vermin, give them a bite in return, and 
throw them away — a custom peculiar to these people ; as is 
also the ceremony observed by them of presenting their 
daughters to the king before marriage. The Adrymachides 
extend from the borders of Egypt to a lake named Plunus. 

Next to these are the Giligammes, whose territory extends 
westward as far as the island Aphrodisias. Midway on this 
coast lies the island Platea, on which the Cyrenaeans founded 
a colony, and ou the main land is the port of Menelaus, and 

(169) 



LIBYAN NATIONS. 337 

also at Aziris where they dwelt some time. Here the plant 
silphium (asafcetida) is first found ; it belongs to the tract of 
country, extending from the island Platea to the mouth of the 
Syrtis. The customs of these people are similar to those of 
the other Libyan nations. 

Bordering upon the Gilligammes towards the west, are the 
Asbystes, who occupy the country above the territory of 
Cyrene — inland ; for they no where approach the coast : they 
are accustomed more than any other Libyans to drive 
chariots four-in-hand, and very much affect the manners 
of the Cyrenaeans. Their neighbours on the western side 
are the 

Auschises, who are situated inland, beyond Barca, yet 
approach the coast near the Evesperides. In the heart of 
their territory there is an inconsiderable people called Caba- 
les, who occupy a part of the coast near Tauchira — a city of 
the Barcaeans : their customs are the same as those of the 
Gilligammes. Westward of the Auschises are the 

Nasamones, a numerous people. During the summer season 
they leave their flocks on the coast, and ascend to a re- 
gion named Augila, to gather dates; for palm trees grow 
there in abundance, and are all productive. They also catch 
locusts, which they dry in the sun, and then grind them to 
a powder, which they mix with milk ; and this is their 
beverage. They practise polygamy nearly in the same man- 
ner as the Massagetes (page 103). Their oaths and enchant- 
ments are thus performed : — When they take an oath, they 
touch the grave of some person reputed to have been eminently 
just and virtuous : and for the purpose of divining future events, 
they repair to the tombs of their ancestors, and having pro- 
nounced prayers, lay themselves down to sleep upon the 
sepulchre, and if they have any dream, avail themselves of it. 
In contracting covenants, each party drinks out of the hand 
of the other ; or if they have no liquid, they take up earth and 
lick it. Next to the Nasamones are (once were) the 

Psyllians ; they perished in the following manner : — The 
south wind had dried up all their cisterns — and all the regions 
within the Syrtis is destitute of springs. After conferring together 
(173) z 



338 LIBYAN NATIONS. 

they,with one consent, set out to make war upon the south wind. 
— I report what I was told by the Libyans. When they reached 
the desert, the south wind blew and overwhelmned them with 
sand. The Nasamones possess the territory of those who thus 
perished. 

Beyond these people, towards the south, and in a wilderness 
frequented by ferocious animals, dwell the Garamantes, who 
avoid all intercourse with other men. They have no weapons 
of war, nor even know how to defend themselves. Towards 
the west, and on the sea coast, the Nasamones are bounded by 
the Maces. These shave their locks, so as to leave a crest of 
tresses growing on the crown of the head, each side being 
shorn to the skin. In war, they carry shields formed from the 
skin of the ostrich. The river Cinyps, rising in an eminence 
called the hill of the Graces, runs through their country into the 
sea. This hill of the Graces is thickly covered with trees, 
though all the other parts of Libya, above-mentioned, are bare. 
It is about two hundred furlongs from the coast. 

The Gindanes are situated next to the Maces. The women 
of this tribe distinguish themselves by wearing a number of 
leather bands round their ankles, indicating, as it is said, the 
number of their admirers. The projecting coast in front of 
the Gindanes is possessed by the Lotophages, who (as their 
name indicates) subsist upon the fruit of the lotus : this fruit 
is nearly equal in size to that of the mastick, and in sweetness 
resembles the date. The Lotophages prepare a wine from it. 
Their next neighbours on the coast are the Machlyes, who also 
subsist, though not so exclusively, on the fruit of the lotus. 
They occupy the banks of a large river called Triton, emp- 
tying itself into a spacious lake named Tritonis, in which is an 
island called Phla, where it is said, the Lacedaemonians 
were destined to found a colony. The story is thus told : — 

When Jason had constructed the ship Argo at the foot of 
mount Pelion, and had put on board not only a hecatomb, 
but a brazen tripod, intending to proceed to Delphi ; he would 
have doubled Peloponnesus ; but when off Malea, a north wind 
drove him to the coast of Libya, and before he discerned the 
land, he found himself amid the shallows of the gulph Tritonis. 

(179) 



LIBYAN NATIONS. 339 

While he hesitated by which way to effect his escape, a Triton 
— it is said, appeared to him, who demanding from Jason his 
tripod, promised to show him the passage, and to send him 
forth in safety. Jason consented, and the Triton, after making 
known to him the passage from the shallows, received the 
tripod, which he placed in his own temple, and there, seated 
upon, it predicted to Jason and his followers their future 
fortunes. " What time," said he, " some descendant of those 
who now sail in the ship Argo, shall carry away this tripod, 
then, by an irrevocable fate, there must be a hundred 
Grecian cities around the Tritonian Gulph." The Libyan people 
of the vicinity hearing the prediction, are said to have hid the 
tripod. 

Next to the Machlyes are the Auses, who share with them 
the shores of the gulph Tritonis, which divides the one people 
from the other. The Machlyes let the hair grow on the back 
of the head; while the Auses leave it entire in front. In 
an annual festival celebrated in honour of Minerva, the young 
women dividing into two companies, fight together with stones 
and staves. They say their ancestors instituted these rites in 
honour of the goddess whom we call Minerva, and whom they 
affirm to have been a native of their country. Those who die 
of their wounds on this occasion, they call false virgins. Be- 
fore they finish the combat, they invest the most beautiful of 
the virgins — chosen by common consent — with a Corinthian 
casque, and complete Grecian armour; and placing her in a 
chariot, lead her around the lake. In what way they adorned 
these virgins before the Greeks inhabited their country, I 
know not; yet I should suppose they then used the Egyptian 
military garb. And indeed both the buckler and the helmet 
came, in my opinion, from Egypt into Greece. Minerva, 
they §ay, was daughter of Neptune and the lake Tritonis; 
but having some cause of quarrel with her father, she gave 
herself to Jupiter, who took her as his -own daughter. Such is 
the account they give. These people are utterly shameless 
in their manners, and disregard all the bonds of family 
relationship. 

I have now mentioned the maritime nations of Libya, who 
(181) z 2 



340 LIBYAN NATIONS. 

feed flocks. Beyond these, inland, the country abounds with 
wild beasts ; and beyond that wilderness there is a ridge of 
sandy ills, extending from the Egyptian Thebes to the Pillars 
of Hercules. Upon this ridge, at distances of ten days' 
journey from each other, are found vast masses of crystallized 
salt, rising in the form of columns. From the summit of each 
column bursts forth — even from the very salt, a stream of fresh 
and sweet water. A race of people have fixed their abodes 
around these springs, and are the last people towards the 
desert, and beyond the wilderness. Commencing from Thebes, 
and at the distance of ten days' journey, the first people are 
the Ammonians, who have a temple derived from that of the 
Theban Jupiter. For at Thebes, as I have before said, the 
image of Jupiter has the ram's head. In the territory of the 
Ammonians there is a spring, which in the morning is tepid — 
in the forenoon cool, and at mid-day extremely cold : at that 
time therefore they water their gardens. Again, as the day 
declines, it relaxes of its coldness, and by the time the sun 
sets the water becomes warm, and the heat increases con- 
tinually as the night advances, till it boils. From midnight 
till day break the heat subsides. It is called the fountain of 
the sun. 

Beyond the Ammonians, along the sandy ridge, and after 
another journey of ten days, is found a pillar of salt, like that 
of the Ammonians, with a fountain of water, around which a 
people has settled. This region is named Augila; and here it 
is that the Nasamones come to gather the autumnal dates. 
Again passing forward ten days from the Augilians, is found 
another column of salt, with a spring, and many fruit-bearing 
palms, as also around the others. The people are called 
Garamantes — a powerful nation. They have formed a soil for 
culture, by spreading earth upon the salt. From hence to the 
Lotophages is not more, by the shortest road, than thirty days' 
journey. In the country of the Garamantes is seen a species 
of oxen, which step backwards as* they feed. — The animal is 
compelled to do so, because his horns* project downwards 
before him in such a manner that, in proceeding forwards, they 
would be driven into the earth. These animals differ not from 

(183) 



LIBYAN NATIONS. 341 

other oxen, except that their hides are at once more thick and 
supple. These Garamantes hunt the Troglodyte Ethiopians, 
like wild animals ; they pursue them in chariots with four 
horses ; the Troglodytes (dwellers in caves) surpass in swiftness 
any men of whom we have ever heard : they subsist on snakes, 
lizards, and other reptiles. Their language resembles that of no 
other people ; indeed they utter only a cry like bats. 

Another journey of ten days brings the traveller to another 
column of salt, with a spring, around which dwell the Atarantes, 
(or, Atlantes,) who of all known nations, are alone destitute of 
personal names ; for no individual has any appellation besides 
that which belongs to the whole tribe. They are accustomed 
to curse the sun, and to utter against him the foulest invectives 
when he bears down upon them from the mid-heavens, because 
with his burning heat he afflicts both man and the earth. 
After another ten days' journey is found yet another column of 
salt, with its fountain and surrounding people. Near to this 
salt hill is the mountain Atlas, which is straitened at its base, 
and circular on all sides, and rises, as it is said, to so great 
a height, that its summits can never be seen ; for neither sum- 
mer nor winter are they free from clouds. The people of the 
country call it the Pillar of Heaven ; from it the people have 
received the name — Atlantes. They are said to eat nothing 
that has breathed, and to see no visions. 

As far as these Atlantes, I am acquainted with the names 
of the nations inhabiting the sandy ridge, but not beyond them. 
Yet the ridge stretches as far as the Pillars of Hercules, and 
even further; and throughout the whole extent of it are found, 
at intervals of ten days' journey, the masses of rock salt and 
the circling people. The houses of all these tribes are built 
with blocks of salt — for in this part of Libya no rain falls, 
otherwise walls of salt could not last long. The rock salt dug 
in these regions is of two kinds, the one white, the other purple. 
The country southward of the ridge, and more inland, is a 
desert — without springs — without animals — without rain — and 
without vegetation ; nor does the least dew fall there. 

Thus — from Egypt to the lake Tritonis — the Libyan nations 
are nomadic — subsist on flesh, and drink milk. Yet they do 
(186) z 3 



342 LIBYAN NATIONS. 

not taste the flesh of cows, any more than the Egyptians : nor 
do they rear swine. Indeed, even the women of Cyrene do 
not think proper to eat cow beef, from which they abstain 
in respect to the Egyptian Isis, in honour of whom they observe 
both fasts and feasts. The women of Barca abstain from pork, 
as well as from the flesh of the cow. 

The Libyans who live west of the lake Tritonis, neither feed 
cattle nor follow the same customs as those already mentioned ; 
nor even treat their offspring in the same manner. Eor the 
nomadic Libyans, whether universally or not I am unable to 
say positively — but many of them, when their children are 
four years old, cauterize the veins on the crown of the head, 
or on the temples, using for the purpose uncleansed wool ; and 
they think that by this means noxious discharges from the head 
are for ever prevented ; and hence it is, as they believe, that 
they enjoy higher health than other nations. And in truth, 
of all nations we have known, the Libyans are the most 
healthy ; but whether from this cause or not, I am unable to 
determine. If convulsions are occasioned under the operation, 
they have a remedy,* which avails to cure them. 

Their rites of sacrifice are these : — They cut off the ear of 
the victim, and throwing it on the roof, observe the auspices. 
Then they twist the neck. Their sacrifices are offered to the 
sun and • to the moon only, and to these all the Libyans offer 
victims ; yet those who occupy the banks of the lake Tritonis, 
worship Minerva with peculiar regard ; and also Triton and 
Neptune. 

From the dress of the Libyan women it is that the Greeks 
have derived the attire and the shield {cegis) of Minerva; 
except only that the Libyan dress is of leather, and that the 
fringing tresses are formed — not of snakes, but of thongs. In 
all other points the costume is the same. The very name may 
convince one that the garb of the Palladia was derived from 
Libya; for the Libyan women, over their other dress throw 
an cegis (cloak of goats' skin) freed from the hair, ornamented 
with fringes, and dried red. It is from these goats'-skin cloaks 

* rpayov ovpov. 

(189) 



LIBYAN NATIONS. 343 

that the Greeks have borrowed the name iEgis. To me it 
seems also that the howlings* heard in our temples were 
learned from Libya ; for the Libyans practise the same very 
much, and perform them in fine style. From these people 
moreover the Greeks have learned to yoke four horses abreast 
to their chariots. 

The nomadic Libyans, excepting the Nasamones, inter their 
dead in the same manner as the Greeks. These bury them in 
a sitting posture ; and they take care that, as the spirit de- 
parts, the dying person shall be sitting, and by no means die 
supine. Their dwellings are portable, being constructed of 
wattles formed of the stalks of the shrub asphodel and reeds. 

Westward of the river Triton, the Auses border upon 
the agricultural Libyans, who are called Maxyes and con- 
struct (substantial) houses. They suffer the hair to grow on 
the right side of the head, and are shorn on the left : they 
bedaub their bodies with red ochre, and profess to be de- 
scended from the Trojans. This region, and all the rest of 
Libya towards the west, is much more infested with wild 
beasts, and abounds more with forests, than the nomadic dis- 
tricts : indeed the whole of Libya, eastward of the river Triton, 
and which consists of pasture, is level and the soil sandy ; 
while all to the west of that river, occupied by the agricul- 
turists, is extremely hilly, woody, and abounding with fero- 
cious animals. For there are seen serpents of surprising mag 
nitude ; and there are the lions, and there are the elephants, 
and the bears, and the asps, and the horned asses, and the 
dog-headed creatures (baboons) and the headless creatures, that 
have eyes in their bosoms — so say the Libyans — and the wild 
men, and the wild women (ourang outang) besides very many 
other ferocious animals — not fabulous. 

* oXoXvyq — ololygee. Those who have heard the musical howlings 
still practised at a harvest-home supper in some remote parts of England 
will be able to understand what sort of performance our author here 
refers to. The similarity of the name may just be mentioned. The har- 
vest howl is called Hollolargess— which though understood to mean— 
hollowing for a largess, or gratuity from the guests at the farm, may per- 
haps be a corruption of the Greek — oXoXuyij. 

(191) z 4 



344* LIBYAN NATIONS. «% 

None of these are found among the Nomades ; but only 
such animals as the roe buck, and the deer, and the buffalo, 
and the common ass without horns, and which does not drink, 
and the antelope, from the horns of which are formed the arms 
of the Phoenician lyre, and which in size equals an ox : and 
the fox, and the hyaena, and the porcupine, and the wild goat, 
and the dictya, and the jackall, and the panther, and the 
borya, and the crocodile — a species living on the land — not 
more than three cubits in length, and much like a lizard, and 
the ostrich, and the little single-horned serpent. Such are the 
animals of nomadic Libya, besides those commonly found else- 
where. Yet neither the hart nor the wild boar is ever seen 
there. Three species of rats are also proper to Libya — one 
called the two-footed (jerboa) another, the zegeres, a Libyan 
word signifying little mounds (mole hills) and the third, 
the hedge hog. Also a weasel, produced in the silphium, 
and which resembles those of Tartessus. We mention these 
as the wild animals known among the nomadic Libyans; — 
and we have made the most extensive and careful inquiries in 
our power. 

The Zaueces are next neighbours to the Maxyan Libyans. 
In war their women drive the chariots. Next to these are the 
Gyzantes, in whose country much wild honey is found, and a 
still larger quantity is said to be obtained by those who 
feed bees. All these people paint their bodies with red ochre, 
and they eat monkeys, which abound in their mountains. 

Some where on these coasts, as the Carthagenians affirm, 
there is an island named Cyraunis, two hundred furlongs in 
length, but exceedingly narrow : it is accessible from the main 
land by fords, and is covered with olive trees and vines. In 
this island there is a lake, from the mud of which the country 
girls obtain spangles of gold, by means of feathers daubed with 
pitch. Whether this be true or not I cannot affirm : — I write 
only what I have heard. It may be quite true, for I have 
myself seen at Zacynthus a pond yielding pitch from its waters. 
There are in that island many ponds, the largest of which 
measures seventy feet every way, and is about two fathoms 
deep. They let down a pole into this water, upon the end of 

(195) 



t LIBYAN NATIONS. 345 

nch is fastened ; and when drawn up, pitch 
is found adhering to the branch : the pitch of this lake has the 
smell of asphaltum {bitumen of the Dead Sea) but it is better 
in quality than the pitch of Pieria : it is poured into a trench 
near the pond, and when a considerable quantity is collected, 
is put into firkins. If any falls into the water, it passes 
under-ground till it reaches the sea, where it may be seen — 
a distance of four furlongs from the pond. It appears 
then that the account given of the Libyan island is not alto- 
gether incredible. 

The Carthagenians go on to relate that, beyond the Pillars 
of Hercules, there is an inhabited country where, when they 
arrive and land their cargoes, they lay their wares on the 
beach, and then themselves return to their ships, and raise 
columns of smoke. The natives seeing the smoke, come down 
to the water side, and lay down a quantity of gold as the price 
of the cargo : this done, they retire to a distance. The Car- 
thagenians then going ashore, examine the deposit, and if they 
think it equal to the value of the articles, they take it and 
depart ; but if not, they retire to their ships and wait. The 
natives again approach and add to their deposit of gold ; and 4 
so on till the parties are satisfied ; but no injury is attempted 
on either side — the one not touching the gold until they accept 
it as a fair price of the commodities ; nor the other touching 
the articles until the gold has been taken up. 

These are the Lybian nations whose names I am able to 
report, and of whom the greater number have never paid any 
regard to the king of the Medes (Persians). And so far as I 
can learn, Libya is occupied by four distinct races of men ; 
of these, two are indigenous, and two not. The Libyans and 
the Ethiopians are the aborigines; the one dwelling towards 
the north, the other towards the south. The foreigners are the 
Phoenicians and the Greeks. 

Libya cannot, I think, be compared either with Asia or 
Europe for fertility. We except the region of Cinyps, wa- 
tered by a river of the same name, and which equals the very 
richest lands in the gifts of Ceres ; and in this respect is totally 
unlike the rest of Libya; the soil consists of black mould, 
(198) 



o 



346 EXPEDITION AGAINST BAJHMl. 

and is so well watered by springs, that it fears no drought ; 
nor indeed is injured by excessive rains — though in this part of 
Libya rain does fall. The produce might be measured against 
that of Babylonia. The lands of tfre Evesperides are also 
good — in years of surpassing plenty, they yield a hundred 
fold, but the lands of Cinyps, three hundred. 

The district of Cyrene is the most elevated part of nomadic 
Libya, and enjoys three distinct seasons of harvest, a fact 
worthy of notice. The first is that of the maritime tracts, 
where the earliest harvest ripens, and the first vintage is ga- 
thered. When the fruits of the earth near the sea are housed, 
those of the hilly country, more remote from the sea, are ready 
to be gathered, and by the time these midland fruits are 
collected, those of the more distant uplands are perfected and 
ripe ; so that the first wines are drank, and the first corn 
eaten, when the third produce comes in. The Cyrenaean har- 
vest thus lasts eight months of the year.] 







SECTION XII. 



REVENGE OF PHERETIMA. 



The Persians sent out by Aryandes to avenge Phe- 
tima, arrived at Barca and besieged the city, having 
first demanded that the authors of the death of Arcesilas 
should be surrendered to them. But as the entire body 
of the people was implicated in his death, they did not 
admit the proposition. During nine months the siege 
continued, in which time subterraneous passages were 
carried even up to the walls, and many vigorous assaults 
were made upon the place. These mines were discovered 
by a brass founder, by means of a brazen shield, and so 
they became known to the besieged: — Carrying the 

(200) 



# 



FALL OF BARCA. 347 

shield around the walls within the city, he struck it 
against the pavement : — in some places it was mute, but 
when applied to the spots where a mine had been dug, the 
brass became sonorous. The Barcaeans therefore sunk 
counter-mines, and put to the sword the Persians em- 
ployed in the works. Thus were these mines discovered. 
The open assaults were repelled by the besieged. 

Time passed away, and many had fallen on both 
sides, and the Persians had suffered not less than the 
Barcaeans. At length Amasis, general of the infantry, 
perceiving that the town was not to be taken by force, 
availed himself of a stratagem. — He caused a spacious 
pit to be dug by night ; and then placing branches across 
it, strewed earth upon them, so as to appear level with 
and like the surrounding surface. At day-break he sum- 
moned the Barcaeans to a conference, to which they 
gladly assented, for they earnestly desired to come to 
terms. A capitulation was agreed upon, and the parties 
standing over the concealed pit, took their oaths in these 
terms : — " So long as this earth shall remain as it is, the 
treaty shall be in force." The Barcaeans on their part 
agreed to pay a reasonable tribute to the king, and the 
Persians were to attempt nothing more against them. 
The treaty being concluded, the citizens, confiding in the 
Persians, themselves issued from their walls, and throw- 
ing all the gates open, allowed the enemy to enter. The 
Persians then breaking up the covering of the pit, rushed 
into the city. — They broke up the covering they had pur- 
posely formed in order to prevent the violation of their 
oath ; for they had sworn to observe the treaty so long 
as that earth should remain as it then was. The surface 
on which they stood being destroyed, the treaty no longer 
continued in force. 

The Persians gave up to Pheretima those . of the 
citizens who were most obnoxious to her, and she em- 
paled them around the walls. She also cut off the 
(202) 



348 RETURN OF THE PERSIANS,, 

breasts of their wives, which she fixed in festoons to 
the walls. All the other citizens were, at her order, 
given up to the Persians as a prey, excepting only 
the Battiades, and those who had taken no part in the 
murder; and to these she surrendered the city. The 
other Barcaeans were made slaves by the Persians, 
and led away by them. When they reached Cyrene, 
the people, in regard to a certain prediction, allowed 
them to pass. As the army went through the town, 
Bares, who commanded the fleet, urged them to pos- 
sess themselves of it ; but Amasis would not permit 
this, saying that he had been sent against Barca, and 
no other Grecian city. But the Persians had no sooner 
passed through the city, and pitched their camp upon 
a mound where stands the temple of the Lycsean Ju- 
piter, than they repented that they had not taken 
Cyrene. They attempted therefore to enter it again; 
but the Cyrenaeans would not suffer this, and the 
Persians, though not attacked, were seized with a 
panic — ran off a distance of sixty furlongs, and there 
pitched their camp. While employed in forming their 
station, there arrived a messenger from Aryandes, re- 
calling them to Egypt. They now applied to the Cy- 
renaeans to grant them provisions for the way, which 
having received, they took their departure for Egypt. 
But throughout their whole march, even till they reached 
Egypt, the Libyans were always at hand to put to 
the sword such as were left in the rear, or those who 
followed tardily, that they might seize their dress and 
baggage. 

The extreme point which this Persian expedition 
reached in Libya was the country of the Evesperides. 
Those of the Barcaeans whom they carried captive, were 
led forward from Egypt to the king. Darius gave them 
for their abode a town in Bactria, to which they gave the 
name Barca, and which was still occupied {by their 

(204) 



DEATH OP PHERETIMA. 349 

descendants) in my time. As for Pheretima, she did 
not end her course happily; for immediately after her 
return from Libya, where she had wreaked her vengeance 
on the Barcaeans, coming into Egypt, she died miserably, 
being devoured alive by worms. — So hateful to the gods 
are the excesses of human revenge ! And such was the 
retribution with which Pheretima, wife of Battus, visited 
the people of Barca. 



BOOK V. 



TERPSICHORE. 



SECTION I. 



THE NATIONS OF THRACE. 



The Persian army left in Europe by Darius, under 
the command of Megabazus, first of the Hellespontines, 
subdued the Perinthians who refused obedience to the 
king. 

[They had before been severely handled by the Paeonians 
of the Strymon, who were instructed by an oracle to invade 
the Perinthians, and to attack them if, when opposed to them 
in the field, the Perinthians should loudly challenge them by 
name to the combat ; but not otherwise. The Paeonians fol- 
lowed these directions, and when the two armies were en- 
camped opposite to each other before the city, the invaders 
received a challenge to three single combats — a man to a 
man, a horse to a horse, and a dog to a dog. In the first 
and second the Perinthians had the advantage, which so de- 
lighted them that they sang the Paeon. The Paeonians ga- 
thering {from the sameness of the name) that this was the 
meaning of the god, said one to another — " Now is the oracle 
accomplished — now it is for us to act our part." They forth- 
with fell upon the Perinthians, even while singing the Paeon, 
and so prevailed that few survived. Such were then the 
achievements of the Paeonians ; but at the time of which we 
are speaking, the Perinthians fought for their liberties like 

(2) 



THE THRACIANS. 351 

brave men : yet Megabazus, with his Persians, vanquished 
them by superiority of numbers. He then moved his army 
into Thrace, and subdued to the king every city and every 
tribe of that country ; for the command given to him by 
Darius was — " to conquer Thrace." 

TheThracians are, excepting the Indians, the most numerous 
of all nations : and if they had been under the sway of one 
prince, or at least, if they had acted in concert, they would 
have been invincible, and in my opinion, the most powerful of 
all nations. But such a union is impracticable, and there- 
fore they are powerless. They are distinguished by a 
variety of names, derived from the districts they occupy; 
yet excepting the Getes, the Trausians, and those who 
live beyond the Crestonseans, they all observe nearly the 
same customs. 

The Getes, as I have before related, profess themselves to 
be immortal. The Trausians in all other respects conform 
themselves to the common usages of the Thracians ; but are 
peculiar in their behaviour at births and deaths. — When a 
child is born, the nearest relatives sit in a circle around the 
babe, and make a howling lamentation, and recount all the 
sufferings incident to humanity, which he may be destined to 
sustain. But when a man dies, they sport and rejoice in 
consigning him to the earth ; for, as they say, he has taken 
leave of so many woes, and is altogether happy. 

The people who live beyond the Crestonaeans, practise 
polygamy, and when a man dies, a great contest ensues among 
his wives, aided by their friends, who, with extreme eagerness, 
support their several claims to the honour of having been 
most loved by him. She to whom this honour is adjudged, 
receives the encomiums of men and women, and is slaughtered 
on the tomb by her nearest relatives : she is then buried with 
her husband. The other wives lament their misfortune : for 
the discredit of surviving him is great. 

The customs of the Thracians in general are these : — They 
sell their children into distant lands ; disregard the virtue of 
their daughters ; but watch strictly the conduct of their wives, 
whom they have purchased from their parents at a great 
(6) 



352 THE THRACIANS. 

price. They deem it a mark of high birth to have the skin ta- 
tooed ; — the ignoble only are free from such stigmas. — Idleness 
they think the greatest good — nothing so dishonourable as to 
cultivate the soil ; and to subsist on war and rapine is their 
delight. Such are their most remarkable usages. The only 
divinities they worship are Mars, Bacchus, and Diana. But 
it is the peculiar distinction of the kings (chiefs) to pay 
signal honours to Mercury, in whose name alone they swear, 
and from whom they profess themselves to be descended. 
The funerals of the rich are thus performed : — During three 
days the body is exposed, and after lamentations have been 
made, victims of all kinds are slain, and a feast is held : the 
body is then either burned or interred. A tumulus of earth 
is raised over it, and games of every kind are instituted, in 
which the victors in single combats receive the highest 
honours. 

The regions north of Thrace are not accurately known 
by any one ; nor is it understood by what sort of people they 
are inhabited. But it seems that the country beyond the 
Ister is an interminable desert, inhabited— so far as I can 
learn — only by the Sigynnes — a people habited like the 
Medes. Their horses are covered with a coat of hair, five 
fingers long; they are of a diminutive size, have turn-up 
noses, and being not strong enough to be rode, are yoked to 
cars, which they draw with great swiftness ; and it is for this 
purpose only they are employed by the natives.* The Sigyn- 
nes border upon the Enetes (Venetians) who occupy the 
shores of the Adriatic, and they profess to be a colony of 
Medes. But how the Medes should have established a 
colony in those parts I cannot explain. Yet in the course of 
ages almost any thing may have taken place. The Ligyes, 
who live beyond Massalia (Marseilles) give the name Sigynnes 
to traders ; while the Cyprians understand by the same 
word — a spear. 

The Thracians affirm that the regions beyond the Ister are 

* It is not improbable that dogs, used in the manner practised by the 
Kamtschadales, gave origin to this description. 

(10) 



THE PiEONIAN BROTHERS. 353 

held by bees, which make it impossible to penetrate the 
country ; but for my own part I cannot think this assertion 
to be at all probable ; especially as these creatures cannot 
support cold. I believe rather that the frosts render the 
regions beneath the Bear uninhabitable. Such are the ac- 
counts given of the country, the maritime parts of which were 
subdued by the Persians under Megabazus.] 



SECTION II. 

THE PiEONIANS — EMBASSY TO MACEDONIA. 
HISTIjEUS. 

After crossing the Hellespont, Darius hastened to 
Sardis, and there, mindful of the good offices of Histiaeus, 
the Milesian, and of the advice given him by Coes the 
Mitylenian, summoned them to Sardis, and offered them 
their choice. Histiseus, who was already tyrant of Mi- 
letus, asked for no other government ; but he asked for 
Myrcinus of Edonia, where he wished to build a city. 
Such was the choice of Histiaeus, while Coes, who was 
not a tyrant, but a private person, asked for the govern- 
ment of Mitylene. Both having obtained their requests, 
repaired to their cities. 

An accidental occurrence incited Darius to command 
Megabazus to subdue the Paeonians and to lead them 
from Europe into Asia. When the king returned to 
Asia, two Paeonian brothers, named Pigres and Man- 
tyes, who were desirous to obtain rule over their country- 
men, came to Sardis, bringing with them their sister — 
a young woman of fine figure and great beauty. They 
(12) 2 A 



354 THE PjEONIAN brothers. 

watched the time when Darius sat in state in the entrance 
of Sardis ; and having decked their sister in the most 
becoming attire, sent her to fetch water with a water 
pot on her head. At the same time she led a horse, the 
bridle of which was passed round her arm, while she 
employed her hand in spinning. As she passed by, she 
attracted the attention of Darius, especially because what 
she did was unlike the usages not only of the Persians, 
but of the Lydians, or indeed of any Asiatic people. So 
much did it fix his attention, that he sent some of his 
guards to observe what the woman did with the horse ; 
they followed her, and observed that when she 
reached the river, she watered the horse — filled her 
vessel, and returned the way she came, bearing it on her 
head, at the same time leading the horse by her arm, and 
turning her spindle. 

Filled with admiration at what he heard, and at what 
he had himself seen, Darius commanded her to be brought 
before him. She came, attended by her brothers, who, 
at no great distance, had observed what was taking place. 
When the king asked her of what country she was, the 
young men replied, that they were Pasonians, and that 
she was their sister. " And who," said Darius, " are the 
Pseonians, and what country do they inhabit, and what is 
your business at Sardis?" — "We are come," they re- 
replied, " to give ourselves to you," and added that Pse- 
onia, with its towns, was a country lying on the banks 
of the Strymon — a river not far beyond the Hellespont, 
and that the inhabitants were Teucrians, and a colony 
from Troy. — Such was their reply to the several ques- 
tions. He then inquired, " if all the women of Paeonia 
were as industrious as their sister. — " O yes," said they 
eagerly, " all." It was their plan to produce this impres- 
sion on the mind of the king. 

Thereupon Darius wrote to Megabazus — the general 
he had left in Thrace, commanding him to remove the 

(14) 



REMOVAL OF THE PAEONIANS. 355 

Paeonians from among the nations where they dwelt, and 
to bring them to him — themselves, their children, and 
their wives. — A horseman was despatched with all haste 
bearing these orders to the Hellespont, which having 
passed, he delivered the packet to Megabazus. He, 
on reading it, took guides from Thrace, and invaded 
Paeonia. The Paeonians, when informed of the advance 
of the Persians, assembled and prepared to defend them- 
selves by the sea side ; for they imagined that the enemy 
would attack them on that side : and here they held 
themselves ready to repel the invaders. But Megabazus 
being informed that the Paeonians guarded all the passes 
on the coast, and having guides, turned and took the upper 
road ; and while they were ignorant of his movements, 
fell upon their cities, which were vacated by the people : 
these places were therefore taken without any opposition. 
On hearing that their towns were already in possession of 
the enemy, the Paeonians instantly dispersed in all direc- 
tions, every one repairing to his own town ; and so gave 
themselves up to the Persians. Thus were those of the 
Paeonians called the Siropaeonians, and the Paeoples, 
together with those who occupy the space bounded by 
the lake Prasias, removed from their abodes, and led into 
Asia. But the Paeonians of mount Pangaeus, and the 
Doberes, and Agrianes, and the Odomantians, and the in- 
habitants of the lake Prasias, were not entirely subdued 
by Megabazus, 

[Those last mentioned he attempted to conquer. They 
inhabit the lake in the following manner : — A flooring is 
raised, and joined upon lofty piles, fixed in the midst of the 
lake ; and there is no other communication with the main 
land, than one narrow bridge. The piles which sustain the 
flooring were anciently furnished at the cost of the community, 
but afterwards a law was established that, whenever a man 
took a wife — and they practise polygamy, he should bring 
(16) 2 A 2 



3§6 PERSIAN EMBASSY 

from a mountain in the neighbourhood, called Orbelue, three 
piles. Every man has his hut raised upon the common plat- 
form. In each habitation there is a trap door securely fitted, 
through which access is had to the lake beneath ; and lest the 
children should tumble through, they are all tied by the 
leg. These people feed horses and beasts of burden upon 
fish, of which the quantity produced in the lake is so great, 
that when they let down the trap door, and lower a basket by 
a rope into the lake, in a short time they may draw it up 
filled with fishes. The lake produces two kinds, one called 
papraces, the other tilones. — The vanquished Paeonians were 
led into Asia.] 

When Megabazus had subdued these people, he sent 
seven Persians on an embassy to Macedonia : they were all 
men of high reputation in the army : their commission 
was to demand from Amyntas an offering of earth and 
water to king Darius. — It is but a short distance from the 
lake Prasias to Macedonia. Near to the lake is the mine 
from which, at a subsequent period, Alexander (son of 
Amynt as) received daily a talent of silver. Beyond the 
mine is mount Dysorum, on passing which the traveller 
enters Macedonia. 

The Persians constituting this embassy, when they 
arrived at the court of Amyntas, and were admitted to an 
audience of the king, demanded in the name of Darius 
the king, earth and also water. These he gave, and 
invited the Persians to the hospitalities of his palace ; and 
having prepared a magnificent supper, received the 
Persians in the most friendly manner. After supper, 
while they were freely drinking, one of the Persians thus 
spoke : — " Macedonian host, it is the custom in Persia in 
our sumptuous entertainments to introduce the ladies. 
Now, therefore, as you give us so friendly a reception, 
and so handsome a supper, and since you have offered to 
Darius the king, earth and water, comply with our cus- 
tom." " Persians," replied Amyntas, " such are not our 

(18) 



TO MACEDONIA. 357 

customs; for our women are separated from the company 
of men ; but as you ,who are our lords ask it, it shall be 
done." The ladies were accordingly sent for, and placed 
on seats opposite to the Persians ; but with this they were 
not content, and demanded that they should be placed near 
them. 

Though vexed by such a violation of propriety, Amyntas 
entertained so great a fear of the Persians that he affected 
composure. But his son Alexander, who was young and 
inexperienced in the ills of life, could not repress his 
feelings while he witnessed the rudeness to which the 
ladies were exposed. Hardly containing himself he thus 
addressed his father : — " Yield, Sir, to your years — retire 
to rest ; nor longer remain at table. I will stay, and will" 
take care that the strangers want nothing." Amyntas 
perceiving by his son's manner that: he was about to put 
some design in execution, replied, " Son, I know almost 
from your language that you are burning with anger, and 
that you wish to dismiss me that you may accomplish 
some fatal resolution; but I enjoin you to do nothing 
injurious to these men, lest you bring ruin upon us : bear 
patiently what you see. Yet at your request I will re- 
tire." Having thus admonished his son, Amyntas retired, 
and then Alexander, begging a short leave of absence for 
the women, promised they should return : this the Persians 
consented to, and they were sent to their apartments: 
meanwhile he collected an equal number of young men, 
whom he attired in the dress that had been worn by the 
ladies ; and having furnished each with a dagger, brought 
them in, and thus addressed his guests :— " Persians ! you 
see we have given you the most sumptuous entertainment 
in our power, and have brought forward whatever we 
could find that might please you ;— we offer you whatever 
we possess, and what is more than all, we have freely 
given you the attendance at table of our mothers and 
sisters, in order that you may learn in how high honour 
(20) 2 a 3 



358 DESTRUCTION OF THE EMBASSY. 

we hold you — as indeed you deserve. On your part, 
therefore, report to the king who sent you, the hospitable 
entertainment you received from the Greek — who, 
in submission to him, governs Macedonia." So saying 
Alexander placed one of the youths by the side of each 
Persian, and presently the Macedonians put them to 
death. Thus perished, not only the ambassadors, but all 
their attendants ; for they were followed by bearers,* and 
ministers, with various kinds of baggage. — All disappeared 
together. Not long afterwards a very earnest inquiry 
was made for these ambassadors by the Persians. But 
Alexander, by giving a large sum of money, and his sister 
also, named Gygsea, to Bubares, a Persian, who with 
others under him, was charged to investigate the affair, 
prudently arrested the search. Thus the death of the 
Persian delegates was hushed up* 

[That the Macedonian kings are Greeks, descended from 
Perdiccas, they themselves profess, and on a future occasion 
I shall prove the fact of which I am myself well assured. 
Suffice it here to say, that those who manage the Olympian 
games among the Greeks have so determined. Tor when 
Alexander wishing to contend in the games, presented himself 
for that purpose, his competitors would have excluded him, 
saying that it was for Greeks, not Barbarians, that the games 
were instituted. But Alexander proving that he was an 
Argive, was judged to be a Greek : and when he was to 
contend in the stadium, he drew one of the first lots.f] 

Megabazus leading with him the Paeonians, reached 
the Hellespont, and crossing it, proceeded to Sardis. He 
had been informed that Histiaeus the Milesian was raising 
walls around the city named Myrcinus, on the banks of the 
Strymon, which he had asked of Darius as a reward for 

o^Tj^ua I venture to translate in an extended sense as being pro- 
bably that of the author. 

t The order of the combatants was determined by lot. 

(23) 



RECAL OF HISTl^US. 359 

his services in preserving the bridge (over the Ister.) 
Instantlv therefore, after his arrival with the Paeonians, 
Megabazus thus addressed Darius, — -"What, Sire, are 
you doing in granting to a Greek, and to a man so formi- 
dable, and so sagacious, the possession of a town in Thrace I 
For in Thrace is an abundance of timber, fit for construct- 
ing ships, and balks for oars, and mines of silver. And 
the country is thickly peopled, both with Greeks and 
Barbarians, who making him their leader, will execute his 
commands, day and night. Now, therefore, stop this man 
in his course, lest war within the realm press upon you. 
But you must use gentle means in sending for him, in 
order to put an end to his enterprize. When once you 
get him in your power, take care that he never again 
returns to Greece." 

Megabazus by these representations easily persuaded 
Darius, who perceiving that he well foresaw the future 
course of events, despatched a courier to Myrcinus, with 
a message to this effect :— " Histigeus — thus speaks king 
Darius. On reflection I find no man better affected to- 
wards me and my government than yourself. And I form 
this opinion, not from your professions, but from your 
conduct. Now therefore, as I am meditating great 
enterprizes, come to me by all means, that I may impart 
them to you." Histiaeus confiding in these professions, 
and being greatly elated with the honour of ranking among 
the king's counsellors, proceeded to Sardis, and was no 
sooner arrived than he was thus addressed by Darius— 
" Histiseus I have sent for you, because ever since my 
return from Scythia, when you left my sight, I have 
wished for nothing so much as to see and converse with 
you. — Knowing as I do that of all our possessions nothing 
is so valuable as an intelligent and well affected friend. 
And that you are both intelligent and well affected towards 
me I have had convincing proofs. You have then done 
well to come. Now hear what I propose. — Think no 
(24) 2 a 4 



360 CONQUESTS OF THE PERSIANS. 

more either of Miletus or of the new city in Thrace ; but 
follow me to Susa. Mine shall be your's : you shall be 
my companion at table, and my counsellor." 

Darius set out for Susa accompanied by Histiaeus, 
having left Artaphernes his own brother by the father, 
governor of Sardis. The army on the coast was placed 
under the command of Otanes, whose father Sisamnes 
being one of the royal judges, had been put to death by 
Cambyses, for receiving a bribe to pervert justice. The 
king ordered the body to be flayed, and the skin to be cut 
into ribbands, which were stretched upon the seat from 
which he had been accustomed to pronounce judgment. 
Then he instituted the son in the office of the father, 
enjoining him ever to keep in mind the chair on which he 
sat to administer justice. This same Otanes, who had 
occupied the seat I have described, succeeded Megabazus 
in the command of the army, and presently captured both 
Byzantium and Chalcedon. He also took Antandrus — 
a city of the Troade, and Lamponium also. Receiving 
some ships from the Lesbians he took Lemnos ; and 
Imbros, both which islands were then occupied by 
Pelasgians. 

The Lemnians fought well, and defended themselves 
for a time ; but were at length reduced. Those who sur- 
vived were placed by the Persians under Lycaretus, 
brother of Mseandrius, who had reigned at Samos. This 
Lycaretus died in his government of Lemnos. Otanes, 
in reducing to slavery all these nations, alleged as his 
pretext — against some of them, that they had deserted 
the army in Scythia; against others, that they had 
annoyed the army in its return from Scythia. Such was 
his mode of proceeding while he held command in those 
parts. 



(27) 



361 



SECTION III. 

REVOLT OF THE IONIANS UNDER ARISTAGORAS. 

After a short interval of repose, the Ionians were 
exposed to new misfortunes, which took their rise from 
Naxos and Miletus. The former was then in a more 
flourishing state than any of the islands, and at the same 
time the latter had just attained its highest prosperity, and 
was esteemed the principal city of Ionia. Two gene- 
rations before the time of which we are speaking, Miletus 
had suffered much from the turbulences of faction ; these 
were however composed by the Parians, whom, of all the 
Greeks, the citizens chose as the arbitrators of their 
differences. The Parian mediators, who were men of 
rank, effected a pacific arrangement in the following 
manner : — Perceiving that the state was in the greatest 
derangement, they declared that they wished to make a 
circuit through the territory. They therefore set out, 
and as they traversed the Milesian lands, whenever, 
amidst the desolated country, they saw a farm well cul- 
tivated, they noted the name of the proprietor. Few 
such were found in the course of their tour ; but imme- 
diately after their return to the city, they convoked an 
assembly, and placed the administration of affairs in the 
hands of those individuals whose farms they had noted 
to be in good order : for, as they said, they supposed 
that men who assiduously managed their private concerns, 
would not display less ability in conducting the common- 
wealth. The arbitrators therefore enjoined the Milesians, 
who hitherto had been split into factions, to submit to the 
(.29) 



362 ORIGIN OF THE 

rule of the persons who were placed in power. Such were 
the means employed by the Parians in composing the 
affairs of Miletus. 

Yet now it was from these two places (Miletus and 
Naxos) that the new troubles arose. — Certain persons of 
overgrown opulence, expelled by the people from Naxos, 
fled to Miletus, which was 'then governed by Aristagoras, 
son of Molpagoras, son-in-law and nephew of Histiaeus, 
son of Lysag^ras, whom Darius detained at Susa ; for 
it was during his detention there, that the Naxians who 
had already formed friendship with him, arrived at Mi- 
letus. They addressed themselves to Aristagoras, pray- 
ing him to grant them aid sufficient to reinstate them in 
their native island. He, on consideration, thought that 
if they were restored by his means, he might bring Naxos 
under his own power. Using therefore the friendship 
subsisting between the Naxions and Histiaeus as a 
pretext, he thus addressed them — "I myself am not 
competent to furnish you with a force sufficient to rein- 
state you at Naxos against the will of the citizens, who 
are now in power, for I am informed they have at their 
command 8,000 men who bear shield, as well as a large 
fleet of long ships. But I will employ every means in 
my power, and suggest to you the course to be pursued. 
Artaphernes is my friend, and he is the son of Hystaspes, 
and therefore brother of Darius the king. Now he com- 
mands all the maritime provinces of Asia (Minor) and has 
under his orders a numerous army, and large fleet; 
and I am of opinion that he will do what we shall 
ask." 

The Naxians now conjured Aristagoras to make his 
best exertions in their behalf, and instructed him to pro- 
mise gifts, besides entertainment to the army, to be pro- 
vided by themselves. Indeed they indulged strong hopes 
that when they should appear off the island, the Naxians 
generally would submit to their domination, and even 

(30) 



IONIAN REVOLT. 363 

that their example would be followed by the other 
islanders. For at that time none of the Cyclades acknow- 
ledged the authority of Darius. When Aristagoras arrived 
at Sardis, he informed Artaphernes, that though Naxos 
was not a large island, it was agreeable, fertile, near Ionia, 
and rich in money and slaves. " Now therefore," said he, 
" send an armament against it to reinstate the fugitives. 
In the first place, besides provision for the troops, I 
have in readiness a large sum of money ; for it is just 
that we should bear the burden of the war. Then in the 
next place, you will acquire for the king not only Naxos, 
but the islands dependent on it, as Paros, Andros, and 
other of the Cyclades. Thence you may with great ease 
advance and attack Eubcea, a large and opulent island, 
not inferior to Cyprus, and which may very readily be 
subdued. All may be accomplished with one hundred 
ships." 

" You do indeed," replied Artaphernes, " make a pro- 
position highly advantageous to the king's affairs, and 
your advice is altogether good, excepting what relates 
to the number of ships required — instead of one, two 
hundred vessels shall be in readiness for you at the 
commencement of spring : but the approbation of the king 
must be obtained." Aristagoras was exceedingly de- 
lighted on receiving this answer ; and departed for Mile- 
tus. Meanwhile Artaphernes, having received from Susa 
in reply to his representations the approbation of Darius, 
collected an armament, consisting of two hundred tri- 
remes, and having on board a large force, both of Per- 
sians and of the tributary nations. The command of the 
expedition was given to Megabates, a Persian of the 
Achaemenidean family, and nephew to himself and Da- 
rius. If common report says true, it was the daughter 
of this same Megabates who, some time afterwards, was 
affianced to Pausanias, son of Cleombrotus, the Lace- 
daemonian, when he sought to become tyrant of Greece. 
(32) 



364 EXPEDITION AGAINST NAXOS. 

Artaphernes having made these arrangements, sent for- 
ward the armament to Aristagoras. 

At Miletus, Megabates being joined by Aristagoras 
with the Ionian army, and the Naxian refugees, sailed 
professedly for the Hellespont. When he reached Chios 
he anchored at Caucasus, (a port of , the island) waiting 
for a north wind to carry him to Naxos. But the Naxians 
were not to receive their ruin from this armament — an 
accidental occurrence averted the danger. As Mega- 
bates was going round through the fleet to inspect the 
watch, he found none set on board a Myndian vessel. 
Resenting the negligence, he commanded his attendants 
to search for the captain — whose name was Scylax, and 
having found, to bind him and place him with his head 
projecting from one of the apertures in the ship's side, 
while his body remained within. Some one presently 
announced to Aristagoras, that Megabates had bound 
and exposed to shame his friend, the Myndian captain. 
He went therefore, and entreated pardon for him from 
the Persian commander; but not prevailing, he himself 
repaired to the vessel, and released the captain. When 
Megabates heard of what had been done, he was trans- 
ported with rage, and reviled Aristagoras. But he 
replied, " By what right do you interfere with our com- 
mands ? Did not Artaphernes send you under my orders — 
and to go wherever I shall direct? Why then do you do 
ought more or less than you are commanded?" Thus 
spoke Aristagoras ; but Megabates now more incensed, 
the same night despatched a vessel in order to inform the 
Naxians of what was intended against them. 

The Naxians who had not at all supposed that the 
armament was advancing against them, immediately, on 
receiving the information, brought whatever they could 
move from their lands into the city ; and in preparation 
for a siege, collected provisions and awaited the instant 
approach of the enemy. Meanwhile the Persians leaving 

(34) 



DEFECTION OF ARISTAGORAS. 365 

Chios, sailed to Naxos, which they found well guarded. 
During four months the siege was carried on, in which 
time they not only expended the supplies they brought 
with them, but had also drawn largely 'upon the resources 
of Aristagoras. Much more was still required for car- 
rying on the siege ; the Persians therefore constructed 
on the island a fortress for the exiled Naxians, 
and themselves retired to the continent with this ill 
success. 

Aristagoras now found himself unable to fulfil his 
engagements to Artaphernes; he was urged to defray 
the expences of the expedition, and he feared lest by the 
accusations of Megabates, the failure of the enterprize 
would be attributed to him, and he thought it probable 
that the government of Miletus would be taken from him. 
Under these apprehensions he meditated revolt. At the 
same moment it happened that a servant arrived from 
Susa, sent to him by Histiaeus, and bearing — imprinted 
on his head, an injunction to revolt from the king. His- 
tiaeus wishing to make this communication to Aristagoras, 
had no other safe means of signifying his proposal — for a 
strict watch was kept on all the roads. — He therefore 
took one of his most trusty slaves, and having shaved 
his head, imprinted letters on it, and then detained him 
till the hair was grown. As soon as the head was again 
covered, he despatched the man to Miletus, giving him 
no other instructions than these — thaf when he reached 
the city, he should request Aristagoras to shave his locks, 
and inspect his head. The letters imprinted — as I have 
already said, conveyed a message of revolt. This part 
was taken by Histiaeus under the deep regret he felt in 
being detained at Susa ; and he entertained great hopes 
that if a revolt took place at Miletus, he should himself 
be despatched to the coast ; but unless troubles arose 
there, he despaired of ever returning. 

It was therefore with these intentions that Histiaeus 
(36) 



366 REVOLT OF THE 10NIANS. 

despatched his messenger, and Aristagoras considering 
the concurrence of circumstances, conferred with his par- 
tisans, communicating to them both his own opinion and 
the intimation he had received from Histiseus. All united 
in advising a revolt, except Hecatseus the historian, who 
at first dissuaded him from undertaking a war against the 
Persian king, and to support his opinion, enumerated the 
nations under the sway of Darius, and held forth the 
greatness of his power ; but when he found he could not 
prevail, he next gave his, advice in the following terms : — 
"The principal endeavour should be to obtain the do- 
minion of the seas, without which nothing could be done ; 
for," said he, " it is well known that the power of Miletus 
is inconsiderable ; yet if the treasures dedicated by Croe- 
sus the Lydian in the temple of the Branchidae were 
seized, there would be great reason to hope that by means 
of them the power of the seas might be obtained. And 
by this seizure not only would so much wealth come under 
their disposal, but the enemy would be prevented availing 
himself of it." How great these treasures were, I have 
mentioned in my first book (page 44). The advice of 
Hecataeus did not prevail; nevertheless it was resolved 
to revolt, and it was determined that one of their number 
should proceed by sea to Myunte, where lay the fleet that 
had returned from Naxos, and endeavour to secure the 
commanders of the ships. 

Iatragoras was despatched for this purpose, and con- 
trived by a stratagem to seize Oliatus, son of Ibanoles, 
of Mylassa, and Histiseus, son of Tymnes {tyrant) of 
Termera, and Coes, son of Erxander, to whom Darius 
had given Mitylene, and Aristagoras, son of Heraclides 
{tyrant) of Cyme ; besides many others. By these mea- 
sures Aristagoras declared his revolt, and henceforth 
adopted every means he could devise by which to annoy 
Darius. His first step was nominally to resign the su- 
preme power, and to establish an equality of rights at 

(37) 



AFFAIRS OF SPARTA. 367 

Miletus, in order that the people might the more readily 
join in the rebellion. Then he did the same in all the 
other cities of Ionia, and expelled all the tyrants. 
In the next place, wishing by all means to conciliate these 
cities, he delivered up to them the tyrants whom he had 
seized in the fleet returned from Naxos: each of the 
tyrants was sent to the city he had governed. 

When the Mitylenians received Coes, they instantly 
led him forth from the city, and stoned him. The Cy- 
mseans banished their tyrant, and as most of the other 
cities did the same, there ensued a cessation of that form 
of government throughout the states. Having thus abo- 
lished tyranny, Aristagoras the Milesian enjoined the 
cities to appoint each for themselves a magistrate. Then 
he himself repaired in a trireme to Lacedsemon; for 
he thought it necessary to acquire some powerful 
alliance. 



SECTION IV. 

AFFAIRS OF SPARTA — CLEOMENES. 

[Anaxandrides, son of Leontas, king of Sparta, was lately 
dead, leaving the government to his son Cleomenes, whose 
birth, rather than his merits or virtues, placed him on the 
throne. Anaxandrides had married his own niece, whom he 
loved, but who had no children. On this account he was 
summoned and thus addressed by the Ephors : — " If you are 
unmindful of the preservation of your house, we cannot be 
indifferent to the extinction of the family of Eurysthenes. 
Now therefore, as the wife you have brings you no children, 
repudiate her and marry another. By taking this course, you 
will gratify the Spartans." " I," said he, " will do neither 
(39) 



368 CLEOMENES. 

the one nor the other ; nor can I think they give me good 
advice who would persuade me to dismiss an innocent wife, 
and to take another. I will not therefore yield to such a 
demand." 

The Ephors and senators held a consultation on the subject, 
and again addressed Anaxandrides : — " Inasmuch as you hold 
your wife so dear — as we see ; at least follow the advice we 
are about to give, nor oppose our wishes, lest the Spartans 
should adopt some unwonted resolution concerning you. We 
no longer require of you the repudiation of your present wife 
— continue to regard her with the same fondness as heretofore ; 
but take another, who may bear you children." Anaxandrides 
consented to the proposition, and from that time had two wives, 
and occupied two homes, contrary to the usages of the Spar- 
tans. Not long afterwards, the second wife bore Cleomenes, 
of whom we have spoken, and presented him to the Spartans 
as heir to the throne. About the same period, the first wife, 
hitherto childless, gave hopes of becoming a mother; and 
such in fact was the case ; but the friends of the second wife, 
troubled by the news, spread reports that it was a vain boast, 
and that a fraud was intended. So much feeling did they 
manifest on the occasion, that when the time arrived, the 
Ephors, themselves infected with doubt, were present as she 
gave birth to a son. She first bore Dorieus, afterwards 
Leonidas, and afterwards Cleombrotus. Some affirm that 
Cleombrotus and Leonidas were twins. The second wife, who 
was the daughter of Prinetades, and grand-daughter of De- 
marmenus, had no child after Cleomenes. 

Cleomenes, it is said, was never of sound mind, and even 
mad, while Dorieus appeared first among the youth of his 
age, and indulged the confident expectation that by his merits 
he should obtain the throne. Filled with these hopes, when 
on the death of Anaxandrides the Lacedaemonians, according 
to law, elevated Cleomenes the eldest son to that dignity, he 
deeply felt the disappointment ; and disdaining to submit to 
the rule of Cleomenes, asked a body of Spartans, and went 
forth to found a colony. Yet he neither consulted the Delphic 
oracle, as to the country where he should settle, nor complied 

(42) 



DORIEUS. 369 

with any of the usages customary on such occasions; but 
impatient of all controul, directed his voyage towards Libya — 
certain Theraeans being his guides. He reached Cinyps, one 
of the most agreeable spots in Libya, where he established 
himself on the banks of a river. But in the third year he was 
driven thence by the Maces, the Libyans, and the Carfchage- 
nians, and returned to Peloponnesus. 

He ^met there with Antichares, of Elis, who, on the autho- 
rity of oracles from La'ius, advised him to found Heraclea in 
Sicily, saying that the entire region of Eryx appertained to 
the Heraclidae, in right of Hercules. On receiving this ad- 
vice, Dorieus went to consult the oracle at Delphi, whether 
he should make a conquest of the country to which he was 
about to proceed. The Pythian replied that " he should take 
it." He therefore collected the forces which he had before 
conducted to Libya, and proceeded to the coasts of Italy. 
About the same time, as the Sybarites affirm, they, under the 
command of their king Telys, were preparing to march against 
Crotona. The Crotonians moved by fear, applied to Dorieus 
to take up their cause : — he complied with their request, 
and joining their forces to his own, attacked and captured 
Sybaris. Such is the account given by the Sybarites. 
But the Crotonians deny that they associated any fo- 
reigners with their native forces in the war with Sybaris. 
The only exception was Callias, the diviner of Eleums, of the 
Jamidean race ; and he had taken refuge among them, to 
escape from the anger of Telys, tyrant of Sybaris; because 
the victims were unfavourable when examined in reference to 
the Crotonian war. In proof of their several accounts both 
people produce evidences. The Sybarites, on their part, first 
appeal to the sacred enclosure, and the fane founded by 
Dorieus, near the winter stream Crathis, when, with the Cro- 
tonians, he captured Sybaris — it is dedicated to the Crathian 
Minerva. They then mention the principal proof — namely 
the death of Dorieus, who perished for disobeying the oracle : 
for, say they, if he had not transgressed, but had proceeded 
to his destined country, he would have made himself master of 
Eryx, and have held it, and not with his army have perished. 
(45) 2 B 



370 DORIEUS. 

On the other side, the Crotonians show the lands within their 
•territory granted by them to Callias of Eleum, and which, in 
my time, were occupied by his descendants ; while nothing of 
the kind was granted to Dorieus, or his children. Yet if he 
had actually aided them in the manner affirmed, against Sy- 
baris, much larger grants would have been bestowed upon him 
than upon Callias. Such are the evidences produced on both 
sides. Every one may adopt the opinion he thinks the most 
probable. 

With Dorieus were associated in the proposed colony other 
Spartans, as Thessalus, Paraebates, Celeas, and Eurylaus. 
When with the entire fleet they reached Sicily, they were 
encountered and defeated by the Phoenicians and Egestaeans, 
and all the chiefs were slain, excepting EurylaUS, who alone 
escaped the fate of his comrades. He, rallying those who 
survived the action, possessed himself of Minoa, a colony 
from Selinus, and aided the Selinians in freeing themselves 
from the despot Pythagoras. But after removing the tyrant, 
he assumed the same power, and for a short period ruled 
Selinus with absolute authority. Presently the Selinians 
revolted, and put him to death, even though he had taken 
> sanctuary at the altar of the home Jupiter. Dorieus had 
also been followed by Philip, son of Butacides, of Crotona, 
who perished with him. He had fled from Crotona, and 
proposed himself to the daughter of Telys, tyrant of Sybaris ; 
but the marriage failing to be accomplished, he sailed for 
Cyrene. Thence he embarked in a trireme of his own, the 
crew of which was paid by himself, and followed Dorieus. 
This man had been a victor in the Olympic games, and was 
the handsomest Greek of his times. On account of the beauty 
of his person, he received unexampled honours from the Eges- 
taeans ; for they erected a monument, as to a hero, on his tomb, 
and even propitiated his favour with sacrifices. 

Such as we have above related was the end of Dorieus, 
who, if he had submitted to the domination of Cleomenes, and 
had remained at Sparta, would have become king of Lace- 
daemon ; for the reign of Cleomenes did not last long, and 
he died leaving a daughter only, named Gorgo.] 

(48) 



371 



SECTION V. 

FAILURE OP ARISTAGORAS AT SPARTA. 

Aristagoras, tyrant of Miletus, arrived at Sparta while 
the Lacedsemonians were governed by Cleomenes. And 
as they affirm, when he came to converse with the king - , 
he brought with him a brazen tablet, on which was 
engraved the entire circuit of the earth, with all its seas 
and rivers. His address to the king- was as follows : — 

" Wonder not Cleomenes, at my assiduity in coming 
to Sparta — our affairs admit no delay. The sons of 
Ionia, who should be free, are slaves. This is indeed 
a high reproach and grief to ourselves ; but also — among 
other Grecian states — chiefly to you, since you are pre- 
eminent in Greece. Now therefore in the name of the 
gods of the Greeks, I adjure you, deliver the Ionians 
from servitude — they are your kin. With ease you may 
effect our freedom ; for the barbarians are not warlike ; 
while you have attained the very summit of military glory. 
Their mode of fighting I will describe : — they use bows 
and short spears : they come into the field wearing trow- 
sers, and on their heads have turbans : they are therefore 
easily vanquished. The inhabitants of that continent 
abound with riches of every kind beyond all other people 
together. — They have plenty of gold, of silver, of brass, 
as well as magnificent vestments, and beasts of burden, 
and slaves. All these are your's if you choose to have 
them. The several nations are ranged contiguously in 
the manner I will now explain. — Next to the Ionians are 
the Lydians, whose territory is fertile, and peculiarly 
rich in silver." As he spoke he pointed out the place 
(49) 2 B 2 



372 ARISTAGORAS AT SPARTA. 

on the map of the earth, which he held in his hand. 
" The Lydians," continued Aristagoras, " have for neigh- 
bours, towards the east, the Phrygians — rich beyond any 
people I know in cattle, and in the fruits of the soil. 
Bordering on the Phrygians are the Cappadocians, whom 
we call Syrians ; they adjoin the Cilicians, who occupy 
the coasts of that sea in which Cyprus is found. They 
pay to the king a yearly tribute of five hundred talents. 
Next to these are the Armenians — wealthy in cattle. 
Here, adjoining to the Armenians, are the Matienians, 
who are bounded by Cissia, within which, and on the 
banks of the Choaspes, stands Susa, where the great king 
fixes his residence, and where are his treasuries. Mas- 
ters of that city, you may boldly vie with Jupiter himself 
for riches. Where you are, you are compelled to contend 
for a small tract of country, and that not fertile, and for 
the maintenance of narrow boundaries, with the Mes- 
senians, your equals in valour, and with the Arcadians, 
and Argives, none of whom possess gold or silver, for the 
sake of which, or the like, we venture our lives in the 
field of tattle. But now you may with little difficulty 
obtain the sovereignty of all Asia ; what better could you 
wish for?" 

Thus spoke Aristagoras. Cleomenes only replied — 
" Milesian stranger, I defer till the third day to give 
you an answer." So far they proceeded at that time. 
When the day fixed for giving an answer arrived, and 
both met at the place appointed, Cleomenes asked Aris- 
tagoras how many days' journey it might be from the 
coast of Ionia to the residence of the king. He, though 
a man of intelligence, and though hitherto he had well 
beguiled Cleomenes, in this instance committed an error ; 
for if he intended to lead the Spartans into Asia, he 
should have concealed the truth ; instead of doing so, 
he simply said that it was a journey of three months; 
Cleomenes therefore preventing Aristagoras, who was 

(50) 



ROtiTE FROM- IONIA TO SUSA. 373 

proceeding to describe the route, said — " Milesian 
stranger ! leave Sparta before sun-set. — In proposing to 
lead the Lacedaemonians a march of three months in- 
land, you utter what they can by no means listen to." 
Cleomenes having pronounced these words, returned 
home. 

But Aristagoras taking the symbol of supplication in 
his hand,* followed Cleomenes, and entering the house, 
presented himself as a suppliant — entreated Cleomenes 
to hear him, and also to dismiss from the chamber his 
daughter : for Gorgo stood by her father ; — she was 
his only child, and then about eight or nine years of age. 
Cleomenes commanded him to say what he wished with- 
out being restrained by the presence of the child. Aris^ 
tagoras then promised him, at first ten talents, if he 
would afford the desired aid ; and when Cleomenes re- 
fused, he went on to augment the sum till he reached 
fifty talents ; then the child exclaimed — " Father ! this 
v stranger will corrupt you, unless you go hence." Cleo- 
menes pleased with the advice of his child, went into 
another apartment, and Aristagoras left Sparta forthwith ; 
nor had opportunity to finish his account of the route 
from Ionia to Susa. 

[The itinerary is as follows: — 

Throughout the route there are royal stations and magnificent 
inns. The road passes every where through inhabited regions, 
and is perfectly safe. In the journey through Lydia and 
Phrygia, there are twenty of these stations, or royal post 
houses. — The distance is ninety-four and a half parasangs. 
Leaving Phrygia, you arrive at the Halys, upon the banks of 
that river there are defiles through which it is necessary to 
pass in order to gain the opposite bank : a large garrison holds 
the passage. Entering Cappadocia, you proceed to the bor- 
ders of Cilicia, after resting at eight-and-twenty stations, and 
traversing a distance of one hundred and four parasangs : 

* An olive branch wrapped in wool. 

(52) 2 b 3 



374 ROUTE FROM IONIA TO SUSA. 

but upon these boundaries you must pass two defiles, and two 
garrisons : leaving these you traverse Cilicia, in which are 
three stations— the distance is fifteen and a half parasangs. 
Cilicia is divided from Armenia by the river Euphrates, which 
is crossed in vessels of some size. In Armenia there are fifteen 
stations for rest, and the route measures fifty-six and a half 
parasangs; garrisons are here also placed at the stations. 
Four navigable rivers run through Armenia, and must be 
passed by the traveller. Of these the first is the Tigris: 
the second and the third bear the same name, though dif- 
ferent streams, and proceeding from different regions; for 
one of them rises in Armenia ; but the other in the territory 
of the Matienians. The fourth river is the Gyndes — the 
same which Cyrus drained by cutting three hundred and sixty 
trenches. From Armenia the traveller proceeds to Matiene, 
where there are four stations. Passing eleven stations, and 
a distance of forty-two and a half parasangs, he traverses the 
province of Cissia, and arrives on the banks of the Choaspes, 
which is also navigable, and upon which stands Susa. The 
whole number of stations is one hundred and eleven ; and at 
each station from Sardis to Susa, the traveller finds a place of 
refreshment. 

Now if the measure of this royal route is correctly given 
in parasangs, and if the parasang is reckoned equal to thirty 
furlongs, as indeed it is ; then it will appear that, from Sardis 
to the royal palace of Memnon {at Susa) is a distance of 
13,500 furlongs — the parasangs being four hundred and fifty. 
And if one hundred and fifty furlongs are travelled in a day, 
then the whole journey will consume ninety days. Aristagoras 
the Milesian was right in telling Cleomenes the Lacedaemonian 
that it was a three months' journey to reach the royal resi- 
dence. But if any one seeks more exact information, I must 
add that the distance from Ephesus to Sardis should also 
be reckoned ; and including this, I affirm that the entire 
route from the coast washed by the Grecian seas to Susa — ■ 
called the city of Memnon, measures 14,040 furlongs. For 
from Ephesus to Sardis is a distance of five hundred and forty 
furlongs, which add three days to the three months' journey.] 

(54) 



375 



SECTION VI. 

AFFAIRS OF ATHENS. THE PISISTRATIDS. 

Expelled from Sparta, Aristagoras proceeded to Athens, 
which was then just freed from its tyrants. 

[Hipparchus, son of Pisistratus, and brother of the tyrant 
Hippias, though, by a vision, distinctly forewarned of his fate, 
was nevertheless slain by Aristogiton and Harmodius, who 
were of Gephyraean extraction. And yet during four years 
after this event, the Athenians, far from obtaining liberty, 
were more rigorously governed than before. The vision seen 
by Hipparchus was this : — in the first night of the Pana- 
thenaea, he thought he saw a man of great stature and beauty, 
standing before him, who uttered the following verses of dark 
intimation. — 

M Lion ! sustain insufferable woe ! 
The cost of crime each erring man must know." 

As soon as day appeared, he communicated the words to 
the diviners of dreams, and after renouncing (or endeavouring 
to avert by sacrifices) the vision, he conducted the procession 
in which he perished. 

The Gephyraeans, from whom descended the slayers of 
Hipparchus, were, as they affirm, originally from Eretria; 
but as I find upon diligent inquiry, they were Phoenicians* 
of the number of those who accompanied Cadmus from Phoe- 
nicia to Boeotia, where they lived on the Tenagrian lands, 
which fell to their share. The Cadmaeans, first, were expelled 
by the Argives ; then these Gephyraeans, being driven out by 
the Boeotians, betook themselves to Athens, where they were 
admitted as citizens, yet on conditions which excluded them 
(57) 2 B 4 



376 PHCENICIAN LETTERS. 

from certain privileges not necessary here to be enumerated. 
The Phoenicians, including the Gephyraeaus, who accompanied 
Cadmus, while they dwelt with the Greeks, introduced among 
them many branches of instruction, and especially the know- 
ledge of letters, which, in my opinion were not before in use 
in Greece. For at first they employed the characters which 
all the Phoenicians make use of; but in process of time, as 
they changed their language, the letters also assumed a new 
form. At that period, the surrounding regions were occupied 
by the Ionians, who, with some small variations, adopted the 
characters which they learned from the Phoenicians ; and very 
equitably, as the knowledge of them had been received from 
that people, the character came to be named — the Phoenician 
letters. The term parchments was in early times applied 
by the Ionians to writings generally, {though the material was 
the papyrus,) because, from the scarcity of paper, they used 
parchments made of the skins of goats and sheep. Indeed 
at the present day, many barbarian nations write upon such 
parchments. 

I have myself seen the Cadmaean letters in the temple of the 
Ismenian Apollo at Thebes in Boeotia ; — they are engraved 
upon tripqds, and much resemble the Ionian letters. The in- 
scription on one of these tripods is as follows : — 

" Amphitryon dedicated me on his return from the Teleboes, 
and it may be assigned to the age of La'ius, son of Labdacus, 
son of Polydorus, son of Cadmus." 

Another tripod bears these hexameters : — 



" Scaeus, a victor in the boxing fight, 
By me adorns the god of far-spread light." 

This Scaeus may be the son of Hippocoon, and unless 
there was another of the same name, would be the contem- 
porary of CEdipus, son of Laius. The third tripod has the 
following verses : — 

"Laodamus, possessed of sovereign sway, 
Presents this tripod to the god of day." 

(61) 



THE PISISTRATIDS AND ALCMAEONIDS. 377 

Under this, Laodamus, son of Eteocles, the Cadmaeans, 
expelled by the Argives, betook themselves to Encheleae. 
While the Gephyraeans remained undisturbed, though soon 
afterwards driven into Attica by the Boeotians. At Athens 
they built temples, in which the Athenians have no part, and 
which have nothing in common with the other temples. — Such 
is the temple of the Achaean Ceres, with its ceremonies. 

Having thus mentioned the vision of Hipparchus, and re- 
lated the origin of the Gephyraeans, from whom descended 
the slayers of that tyrant, I must now return to my proposed 
account of the manner in which the Athenians freed themselves 
from the rule of the tyrants. Hippias assuming the govern- 
ment, exercised his authority with extreme rigour, in resent- 
ment of the death of Hipparchus. The Alcmaeonids — an 
Athenian family, who had fled from the domination of the 
Pisistratids, in conjunction with other Athenian exiles, had 
failed in their attempt to return to their country by force of 
arms, and in the enterprize by which they hoped to reinstate 
themselves and to liberate Athens, had met a signal defeat. 
They then fortified Lipsydrium, which is above Paeonia, and 
thence devising by every means to overthrow the Pisistratids, 
they engaged by contract with the Amphictyons to build the 
now existing temple at Delphi. Having at their command 
great wealth, and supporting the honours of an illustrious and 
ancient family, they constructed the temple on a scale of 
magnificence which surpassed the prescribed plan. — Among 
other things — though bound only to build the temple of the 
Porian marble, they reared the front with the Parian. «. 

According to the account given by the Athenians, these 
Alcmaeonids, while at Delphi, prevailed upon the Pythian by 
money to propose to all Spartans who came to consult the 
oracle, whether on their private affairs or for the state, to 
undertake the liberation of Athens. The Lacedaemonians 
always hearing the same proposition, at length despatched 
Anchimolius, son of Aster, a man of distinction at Sparta, 
with an army to expel the Pisistratids from Athens, although 
allied to them in the bonds of strict friendship; but they 
deemed the commands of the gods to be of higher authority 
(63) 



378 EXPULSION OF THE PISISTRATIDS 

than the duties they owed to men. The expedition proceeded 
by sea, and disembarked at Phalerum. The Pisistratids 
having had timely information of the design, had sum** 
moned the Thessalians to their aid, with whom they were on 
terms of alliance. The Thessalians with one consent yielded 
to the request, and sent a body of a thousand horse, under 
the command of Cineas, their king, who was a Corniaean. 
Strengthened by these auxiliaries, the Pisistratids caused the 
plain about Phalerum, to be cleared of every obstruction, 
and to be rendered every where fit for the movements of 
cavalry. Then they sent forwards the Thessalian horse to 
attack the enemy's camp. They charged the Lacedaemonians — 
put many to the sword, among the number Anchimolion, and 
drove the survivors on board their ships. Such was the event 
of the first Lacedaemonian expedition. The tomb of Anchi- 
molius is near the temple of the Cynosargean Hercules, at 
Alopece in Attica. 

The Lacedaemonians then raised a larger force, which, under 
the command of their king Cleomenes, son of Anaxandrides, 
they sent against Athens ; not by sea, but over-land. When 
they entered the Attic territoiy, they first encountered the 
Thessalians, whom they presently defeated, putting more than 
forty to the sword : the others returned immediately to Thes- 
saly. Cleomenes then advancing to the city, attended by 
such of the Athenians as favoured the cause of liberty, be- 
sieged the tyrants, who were shut up in the Pelasgian fort. 
It would have been impossible for the Lacedaemonians to suc- 
ceed ii^an assault upon the Pisistratids ; nor did they think of 
continuing a blockade ; indeed the tyrants were abundantly 
furnished"**with provisions of all kinds. After besieging them 
a few days, they would have returned to Sparta. But just 
at this moment an accident occurred, unfortunate for one party, 
but advantageous to the other. The children of the Pisis- 
tratids were made prisoners as they were being removed from 
Attica. This event deranged all their plans, for, as the ran- 
som of their children, they assented to the terms offered to 
them by the Athenians, and these conditions obliged them to 
leave Attica in five days. They therefore departed and went 

(65) 



BY THE LACEDEMONIANS. 379 

to Sigeum, on the Scamander, after having governed the Athe- 
nians thirty-six years. They were by origin Pylians, and 
. descended from Nelius, and having the same ancestors as 
^odrus, and Melanthus, who though not natives, became 
kings of Athens. It was to keep in mind their extraction 
that Hippocrates gave the name Pisistratus, to his son, be- 
cause it had been borne by a son of Nestor. Thus were the 
Athenians freed from the tyrants. I now proceed to relate 
the most remarkable exploits and misfortunes which took 
place after they became free, and before the time of the 
Ionian revolt, when Aristagoras the Milesian arrived to ask 
their aid.] 



SECTION VII. 



ATHENIAN FACTIONS. 



[The Athenians who were before powerful, became more 
so after they had disengaged themselves from their tyrants. 
Two powerful individuals then influenced affairs — Clisthenes 
of the Alcmeeonids, who as it is reported, bribed the Pythian ; 
and Isagoras, son of Tisander — a man of an illustrious family, 
though I am not acquainted with his extraction : but those 
who claim kindred with him sacrifice to the Carian Jupiter. 
These two men factiously contended for authority in the state, 
and Clisthenes being overcome, courted the favour of the 
people. Some time afterwards, he divided the four Athenian 
tribes into ten ; and instead of the names derived from the 
four sons of Ion — Geleon, iEgicores, Argades, and Hoples, he 
brought forwards the names of the native heroes of the country; 
yet he admitted Ajax, who though a foreigner, was a neigh- 
bour and an ally. In effecting this alteration, I think he fol- 
lowed the example of Clisthenes, his maternal grandfather — 
(67) 



380 CLISTHENES OF SICYON. 

the tyrant of Sicyon, who while engaged in a war with the 
Argives, abolished the games in which reciters contended for 
prizes in repeating the verses of Homer, because therein 
Argos and the Argives are so greatly celebrated ; and the* 
he sought to expel from Sicyon (the worship of) Adrastus, son 
of Talaus — an Argive, who had a shrine in the square at 
Sicyon, which still exists. Going to Delphi, he inquired if 
he should expel Adrastus; but the Pythian replied that 
" Adrastus was a king of Sicyon ; but that he was a robber."* 
On his return, as the god did not yield to his request, he con- 
trived himself the means of banishing Adrastus ; and having 
devised a plan, he sent to Thebes in Boeotia for (the relics of) 
Melanippus, son of Astacus, which the Thebans granted to 
him. When (the remains of) Melanippus arrived, Clisthenes 
devoted to him a shrine in the prytaneum itself; and placed 
it in the most strongly fortified spot. This he did — if I must 
assign the reason, because Melanippus was the particular 
enemy of Adrastas, whose brother Mecistes, and son-in-law 
Tydeus, he had slain. After consecrating the fane, he con- 
verted the sacrifices and feasts usually celebrated in honour 
of Adrastus, to Melanippus ; and the Sicyonians had been 
accustomed to perform these ceremonies with extraordinary 
magnificence. For their country had indeed belonged to 
Polybus, whose daughter was, mother of Adrastus ; and Po- 
lybus having no son, left his dominions to his grandson. 
Among the honours bestowed by the Sicyonians upon Adrastus 
they celebrate his misfortunes in tragic verses — not Bacchus 
but Adrastus is the object of their worship. Yet Clisthenes 
assigned the chorusses to Bacchus, rendering all the other 
rites to Melanippus. 

Then he changed the names of the Doric tribes, that those of 
the Sicyonians and Argives, might not be the same ; and herein 
he treated the Sicyonians with ridicule ; for he adopted the 
words hys and onos (swine and ass) with the former terminations ; 
thus composing the names, Hyates, Oneates, and Chcereates 

XevoTrjpa stands in the text ; but probably Xtj'itrrtfpa is the true 
reading. 

(68) 



CLISTHENES THE ATHENIAN. ' 381 

{from ehceros a hog). Yet to his own tribe he gave the 
appellation Archelaeans, significant of his own sovereignty. 
These names the Sicyonians preserved in use not only during 
the reign of Clisthenes, but sixty years after his death — when, 
upon consultation, they changed them into Hylleans, Pam- 
phylians, and Dymanates ; and in honour of iEgialeus, son of 
Adrastus, gave his name to the fourth tribe called iEgialeans. 
Such was the course adopted by the Sicyonian Clisthenes. 

Clisthenes the Athenian, who was named after his maternal 
grandfather, the king "of Sicyon, imitating, as I think his 
ancestor, in contempt for the Ionians, would not suffer the 
Athenian tribes to bear Ionian names. After completely 
conciliating the Athenian people, who before had been averse 
to his interests, he changed the names and increased the num- 
ber of the tribes — instead of four Phylarchs (heads of tribes) 
he constituted ten ; and distributed the people into as many 
wards. By thus winning the favour of the citizens, he obtained 
a decided superiority over the opposite factions. Isagoras 
now finding himself on the weaker side, devised other means 
of competing with his rival. — He called upon Cleomenes, king 
of Lacedaemon, with whom he had formed a friendship at the 
time when the Pisistratids were besieged. The first step 
taken by Cleomenes, under the direction of Isagoras, was to 
send a herald to Athens, requiring the expulsion of Clisthenes, 
and with him many other Athenians, alleging as a reason, 
that they had incurred the guilt of sacrilege. It was true 
that the Alcmzeonids and their partisans were chargeable 
with a murder, but neither he nor his friends had any part 
in it. 

Certain Athenians incurred this charge of sacrilegious mur- 
der on the following occasion : — Cylon an Athenian, having 
been victor in the Olympic games, was so moved by vanity as 
to affect tyrannical power ; and associating with himself per- 
sons of his own standing, he made an attempt upon the Acro- 
polis; but failing in the enterprize, he placed himself as a 
suppliant near the statue of the goddess. Thence they (Cylon 
and his followers) were removed by the Naucrarian Prytanes, 
who then governed Athens, on promise that they should not 
(71) 



382 REPULSE OF CLEOMENES 

suffer death. Notwithstanding they were slaughtered — as it is 
said by the Alcmaeonids. These events took place before the 
age of Pisistratus. 

When Cleomenes sent the herald to expel Clisthenes and the 
Athenians accused of sacrilege, he alone withdrew. Yet after- 
wards Cleomenes repaired to Athens with a small force, and at 
the suggestion of Isagoras, banished seven hundred Athenian 
families. He next attempted to dissolve the senate, and to 
place the government in the hands of three hundred partisans 
of Isagoras. But the senate resisted these proceedings, and 
refused submission. Cleomenes and Isagoras therefore took 
possession of the citadel, and the other citizens who sided 
together with the senate, besieged them two days ; on the 
third, the Lacedaemonians were admitted to conditions, by 
which they agreed to quit the country. Thus was accom- 
plished the omen addressed to Cleomenes; for when he 
ascended the Acropolis, in order to take possession of it, he 
advanced towards the adytum of the goddess, intending to 
consult her ; but before he passed the doors, the priestess rising 
from her seat said — " Lacedaemonian stranger ! retrace your 
steps ; nor enter the temple, for it is not lawful that a Dorian 
should approach this place." " O woman," replied he, 
"I am not a Dorian, but an Achaean." Disregarding the 
presage, he persisted in his enterprize, and therefore again with 
his Lacedaemonians failed of success. The Athenians of that 
party were bound for death : among them was Timasitheus of 
Delphi, of whose achievements and intrepidity I might say 
much. The prisoners were all put to death. 

The Athenians recalled Clisthenes, and the seven hundred 
families banished by Cleomenes, and then despatched ambas- 
sadors to Sardis with the intention of forming an alliance witk 
the Persians ; for they thought it certain that they should have 
to maintain a war with the Lacedaemonians and Cleomenes. 
When these ambassadors arrived at Sardis, and reported the 
object of their mission to Artaphernes, son of Hystaspes, 
governor of Sardis, he inquired of them who and what they 
were, and what spot of the earth they inhabited, that they 
should ask the Persians to form alliance with them. The 

(73) 



FROM ATHENS. 383 

ambassadors having informed him on these points, he briefly 
answered them, that if the Athenians presented to king- 
Darius earth and water, he would form an alliance with them. 
But if not, he commanded them to depart. The ambassadors 
after conferring together, professed their willingness to make 
the required offering, for they desired to effect the alliance. 
But on their return to Athens, they fell under a very serious 
accusation (for this compliance). 

Cleomeness well informed of the hostile treatment, both 
in words and deeds, which he received from the Athenians, 
levied an army from all parts of Peloponnesus, without declaring 
his intention, which was to avenge himself upon the Athenian 
commonalty, and to establish Isagoras as tyrant of Athens : 
for Isagoras had retired with him from the Acropolis. With 
this numerous army he entered the lands of Eleusis, while the 
Boeotians, by previous agreement, took CEnoe and Hysia — 
the last towns of Attica on that side. The Chalcideans also 
in another direction invaded and ravaged Attica. Thus at- 
tacked on all sides, the Athenians deferred till a future time 
to avenge themselves on the Boeotians and Chalcideans ; and 
for the present, directed their arms against the Pelopon- 
riesians at Eleusis. The two armies were about to engage, 
when the Corinthians first, on deliberation, perceiving that 
the part they were acting was not equitable, changed their 
purpose, and retired. Then Demaratus, son of Ariston, who 
was also king of Sparta, and held a joint command in the 
Lacedaemonian army, did the same, although heretofore there 
had been no disagreement between him and Cleomenes. On 
occasion of this difference, a law was passed at Sparta, forbid- 
ding the two kings to lead the army together in distant expe- 
ditions : before the time of which we are speaking both were 
accustomed to follow the camp. It was also made a rule that 
henceforward the two Tyndarides (the symbol of Castor and 
Pollux) should be separated, and one left at home : — formerly 
both were summoned to follow the army as aids. The other allies 
in the army at Eleusis, perceiving the dissention between the 
Spartan kings, and seeing the Corinthians leave the line, took 
their departure also. 
(75) 



384 ATHENIAN SUCCESSES. 

This was the fourth time that the Dorians had entered 
Attica; — twice to make war, and twice in good will to the 
Athenian commonality. The first time was when they estab- 
lished a colony in Megara — an event which may well be 
assigned to the time when Codrus was king of Athens. The 
second and the third expeditions were sent out to effect the 
expulsion of the Pisistratids. The fourth was this invasion 
of Eleusis by the Peloponnesians under Cleomenes. Imme- 
diately after the inglorious dissolution of the Peloponnesian 
army, the Athenians resolved upon executing their {deferred) 
revenge, and with this view first marched against the Chal- 
cideans : but the Boeotians advancing to the Euripus, to suc- 
cour the Chalcideans, the Athenians resolved to attack the 
former before they engaged the latter. The Athenians there- 
fore joined battle with the Boeotians — prevailed over them — 
put many to the sword, and took seven hundred prisoners. 
The very same day they passed over to Euboea, and fought 
the Chalcideans, whom also they vanquished. They then 
left 4,000 colonists in the island to occupy the pasture lands 
of the Hippobotes (knights or feeders of horses) a name given 
to the most wealthy of the Chalcideans. The prisoners, as 
well Boeotians as Chalcideans, were fettered, and detained in 
prison. But after a time, they were released at the price of 
two minae each. The fetters which these prisoners had worn 
were suspended in the Acropolis, and even in my time con- 
tinued hanging on the wall were it was scathed with fire by 
the Medes, and opposite to the western front of the temple. 
The tenth, part of the ransom money they dedicated in the 
form of a brazen chariot with four horses : it stands foremost 
on the left hand, as you enter the portico in the Acropolis, and 
bears the following inscription : — 

" Bceotia's bands and Chalcis too o'ercome 

In strenuous fight, 

With iron bound in deepest prison gloom, 

Quell'd anger's height. 

Athenian youths whose hands achieved the day, 

A tenth to Pallas in these horses pay." 

(77) 



385 



SECTION VIII. 

WAR BETWEEN ATHENS AND iEGINA. 

[From that time the Athenians continued to increase in power. 
Not by one instance only, but by universal experience is it ma- 
nifestly proved that a government which secures an equality of 
rights is highly advantageous to a people. While the Athenians 
were governed despotically, they never excelled their neighbours 
in the field ; but having dismissed the tyrants, they acquired a 
decided superiority. Whence it is evident that, while in bond- 
age, they designedly abstained from exerting their valour, 
knowing that they were fighting only for their despot. But 
when they became free, every man exerted himself with 
the zeal of one whp labours to advance his personal interest: — 
and such was actually the feeling among the Athenians. 

After these events, the Thebans wishing to avenge them- 
selves on the Athenians, sent to inquire of the god ; but the 
Pythian answered them, that " By their own forces they should 
not accomplish their revenge ; and advised them to report the 
matter to the many-tongued multitude, and also to solicit their 
nearest neighbours." The messengers returning with this an- 
swer, convoked an assembly of the people, and the Thebans 
learning that they were to seek aid from their neighbours 
said — " And are not the Tanagraeans, and the Coronaeans, and 
the Thespians, our nearest neighbours ; and do they not 
always join with us in the field ; and will they not heartily 
aid us in the war ? What need is there then that we should 
address entreaties to them? But surely this was not the 
meaning of the oracle." While they thus discussed the sub- 
ject, some one, informed of what was in debate, thus addressed 
them — " I believe myself to understand the intention of the 
oracle. — Thebe and iEgina were daughters of Asopus, and 
were therefore sisters. I think then that the god instructed 
us to entreat the JEginetans to avenge us." No opinion better 
(80) 2 C 



386 DISPUTES BETWEEN 

than this being before the assembly, they immediately sent to 
iEgina, calling upon the people of that island to aid them 
according to the command of the oracle, as their nearest of 
kin. The iEginetans in reply to this request, promised to send 
them for their aid the (statues of the) iEacids. 

The Thebans, on the strength of the succour of the iEacids, 
tried the fortune of war with the Athenians, by whom they 
were very roughly handled. They therefore again sent to 
return the (statues of the) iEacids and to ask that a body 
of troops might be granted. The people of iEgina — elated 
by the greatness of their wealth, and not forgetful of the 
ancient animosity between themselves and the Athenians, 
on receiving this request from the Thebans, made war 
against Athens, without announcing their hostility by a 
herald ; and while the Athenians pressed upon the Boeotians, 
they, passing over in ships of war to Attica, pillaged Phalerum 
and many other towns on the coast. The loss of the Athe- 
nians by this invasion was considerable. 

The ancient animosity borne by the iEginetans to the Athe- 
nians was contracted on the following occasion. The lands 
of the Epidaurians failed to yield their wonted produce, and 
the people sent to consult the Delphic god on the cause of the 
calamity. The Pythian commanded them to erect statues to 
Damia and Auxesia (Ceres and Proserpine; or, industry and 
increase) after which it would be better with them. The Epi- 
daurians then inquired whether they should form the statues of 
brass, or of marble. The Pythian replied, of neither, but of the 
wood of the cultivated olive tree. They therefore entreated the 
Athenians to permit them to cut olive trees, deeming those of 
Attica the most sacred. Indeed it is said that at that time 
the olive grew no where but in Attica. The Athenians pro- 
fessed their willingness to comply with the request, on con- 
dition that the Epidaurians would every year offer victims to 
Minerva, patroness of the city, and to Erechtheus. The con- 
dition was agreed to — the Epidaurians obtained what they 
asked, and having formed statues from these olive trees, dedi- 
cated them. Their land from that time yielded its fruits, 
and they fulfilled their engagement with the Athenians. 

(82) 



ATHENS AND J1GINA. 367 

At that period and heretofore the iEginetans acknowledged 
Subjection to the Epidaurians, as well in other matters as in the 
decision of causes ; for they were accustomed to pass over to 
Epidaurus to determine suits. But at the time of which we 
are speaking — filled with presumption, they fitted out ships, 
revolted, declared their hostility, and, as masters of the sea, 
ravaged the Epidaurian coasts, and carried off the statues of 
Damia and Auxesia, which they took home and set up in the 
midst of their island at a place called (Ea, about twenty fur- 
longs from the city. Having set up the images in the spot 
mentioned, they instituted sacrifices to them, with taunting 
chorusses of women, who in reproaching each other, sought to 
propitiate the divinity. They also appointed ten stewards of 
the festivities to each of the (two) daemons. In these cho- 
russes the women of the island, not the men, were the 
objects of raillery.* Rites of this kind were in use among 
the Epidaurians, who also practised ceremonies which were 
never divulged. 

These statues having been stolen from them, the Epidaurians 
ceased to render to the Athenians the stipulated offerings, 
and the latter sent an angry message on the subject to Epi- 
daurus. But the Epidaurians made it appear that they were 
not to be blamed ; for as long as the statues remained in their 
possession, they had fulfilled the articles of the covenant; but 
when deprived of them, it was no longer equitable that they 
should make the offerings, which should rather be demanded 
of the iEginetans who actually possessed the statues. On 
receiving this answer, the Athenians sent a deputation to 
JEgina to demand the statues. But the islanders replied that 
they had nothing whatever to do with the Athenians. The 
Athenians relate that, after this demand had been made, they 
despatched a single trireme with the citizens who had been be- 
fore sent in the name of the people, and who on reaching iEgina 
attempted to wrench the statues from their bases, that they 
might bring them away, for the wood of which they were 
formed belonged to the Athenians. But not being able to get 

* In such satirical chorusses it was most usual for the women to rail 
at the meu. 
(85) 2 c 2 



388 DISPUTES BETWEEN 

possession of them in this manner, they threw cords around 
them in order to pull them down. Just as they were pulling, 
thunder rolled, and after thunder there followed an earthquake. 
The Athenians seized with frenzy, attacked each other as ene- 
mies, and fought until one only of the whole number survived 
and returned to Phalerum. Such is the story told by the 
Athenians. But the iEginetans affirm that it was not in a 
single ship that the Athenians came; for if so, or if there had 
been even a few ships only— they, though themselves destitute 
of ships, might easily have repulsed them. On the contrary 
it was, say they, with a numerous fleet that the Athenians 
invaded JEgina. The iEginetans retired, and would not en- 
gage the enemy at sea. But they do not affirm precisely whe- 
ther this course was adopted because they felt themselves to 
be unequal to a sea-fight ; or whether it was because they had 
a different project in contemplation. The Athenians, as the 
iEginetans affirm, seeing no one to oppose them, left their 
ships and proceeded towards the statues, and not being able 
to wrench them from their bases, threw ropes around and 
pulled until both statues fell down upon their knees, in which 
position they have ever since remained. There may be those 
to whom this story will seem credible ; to me it does not. 
Such, according to the people of iEgina, was the conduct of 
the Atheqians. For themselves they say that, being in- 
formed of the intended invasion, they had forewarned the 
Argives to be in readiness, and that when the Athenians 
actually made a descent on the island, the Argives afforded 
their aid. Unperceived and unexpected, they had passed 
over to iEgina, and cutting off the retreat of the Athenians 
to their ships, fell upon them. At the same time, as they 
affirm, there happened thunder and an earthquake. 

In this account the iEginetans and the Argives agree, and 
the Athenians admit that one only of their citizens survived 
to return to Attica ; the difference betwen them is, that the 
Argives affirm themselves to have destroyed the Athenian 
invaders, excepting the single survivor ; while the Athenians 
say that it was from the hand of the daemon that he escaped, 
and they add that even he afterwards perished. For when 

(87) 



ATHENS AND jEGINA. 389 

he returned to Athens, and recounted the misfortune that had 
occurred, the wives of those who had fallen in iEgina, enraged 
that he alone of all should have escaped unhurt, surrounded 
him, and piercing him with the tongues of their robe-buckles, 
each demauded of him where was her husband. Under this 
treatment he died. The deed perpetrated by these women 
affected the Athenians even more deeply than the loss they 
had suffered, and having no other way of punishing them, 
they obliged them to change their mode of dress, and to 
assume the Ionian garb. Heretofore the Athenian women 
had worn the Doric dress, which nearly resembles the Corin- 
thian. But now, laying aside their former attire, they 
adopted a linen robe, in order that they might no longer use 
buckles. To speak correctly, this dress is not originally 
Ionian, but Carian. The ancient dress of women throughout 
Greece was the same as what we now call the Doric. As 
for the Argives and the iEginetans, on this occasion, they 
severally adopted the practice which still continues, of wear- 
ing buckles with tongues three times as long as heretofore. 
And their women are accustomed to dedicate such buckles to 
the two divinities (Damia and Auxesia.) Nor do they permit 
any article from Attica — not even an earthen vessel, to be 
brought into the temple. And it was made a law that no one 
should drink except from vessels of home manufacture. In 
my time the women of Argos and of iEgina continued to 
manifest their ill-will towards those of Athens by wearing 
buckles much larger than formerly. 

Such was the origin of the animosity between the Athenians 
and iEginetans. And at the time of which we were speak- 
ing, the latter people when called upon by the Thebans, and 
retaining a lively recollection of the transactions just men- 
tioned relating to the statues, readily afforded their assistance. 
They ravaged the coast of Attica ; but when the Athenians 
were proceeding to invade iEgina, there arrived an oracular 
message from Delphi, enjoining them to refrain from chas- 
tising the people of iEgina during thirty years — reckoning 
from the commencement of the wrongs they had received ; 
but that after consecrating a temple to iEacus, if they made 
(89) 2 c 3 



390 SPARTAN CONSPIRACY 

war in the thirty-first year, they should obtain the wished-for 
success. If, however, they would invade iEgina immediately, 
they should, during a time, suffer many evils as well as inflict 
many ; though in the end they should overthrow the iEgi- 
netans. The Athenians on receiving this intimation, con-r 
secrated a fane to JEacus, which now stands in the forum. 
But after suffering so severely from the iEginetans, they could 
not endure to hear that they must restrain themselves for 
thirty years.] 



SECTION IX. 

LACEDAEMONIAN CONSPIRACY AGAINST ATHENS. 

[But while making preparations to accomplish their revenge, 
an obstacle was placed in their way by the Lacedaemonians. 
The Spartans had become acquainted with the practices of 
the Alcmaeonids in tampering with the Pythian ; and in thus 
discovering the part she had acted towards themselves and 
towards the Pisistratids, were doubly vexed;— first because 
they had expelled men who were their friends from their 
country ; and then that they had not even won the gratitude 
of the Athenians for their services. Just at the same time 
they were moved by predictions signifying that grievous in- 
juries were about to be inflicted on them by the Athenians. 
With these predictions they had hitherto been unacquainted ; 
nor learned them till the return of Cleomenes to Sparta, who 
brought them away from the Acropolis at Athens. They had 
before been in the possession of the Pisistratids, but were 
left in the temple when the tyrants were expelled. Cleo- 
menes found and took them. On obtaining these predictions, 
the Lacedaemonians who perceived the rising greatness of the 
Athenians, and found them not at all disposed to submit to 

(91) 



AGAINST ATHENS. 391 

Spartan domination, were not ignorant that if the people of 
Attica enjoyed freedom, they would soon share political in- 
fluence with themselves on equal terms ; though if depressed 
by a tyrannical form of government, they would become feeble 
and obsequious. — I say, taking these facts into consideration, 
they sent for Hippias, son of Pisistratus, from Sigeum on the 
Hellespont, whither the Pisistratids had retired. When, in 
compliance, with their invitation, he arrived, they convoked 
also deputies from their allies, whom they addressed in the 
following terms : — 

" Confederates ! we acknowledge that we have done wrong. 
— Impelled by deceptive oracles, we have driven from their 
country men who were bound to us in the strictest friendship, 
and who moreover were engaged to hold Athens in subjection. 
And then we delivered the government to an ungrateful people, 
who after being emancipated by our means, have held up their 
heads — have insultingly driven out both us and our king, and 
inflated with pride, are growing in power. Their near neigh- 
bours the Boeotians and Chaleidians have already learned by 
experience,, what others who may offend them must presently 
discover. We have then erred in the course which hitherto we 
have pursued;, but now, with your concurrence, we will en- 
deavour to remedy the evils we have occasioned, and to punish 
the Athenian people. It is then for this cause that we have 
invited Hippias who is here present, and have also called for 
you from your several cities, that by concerting our measures 
and combining our forces, we may lead him back to Athens, 
and restore to him what we took away." 

Thus spoke the Lacedaemonians, but failed to win the con- 
currence of the majority of the confederates, who kept silence, 
till at length Sosicles of Corinth addressed them as follows : — 
" Shall not the heavens take their place under the earth, and 
the earth be exalted over the heavens, and men learn to live 
in the sea, and fishes frequent the abodes of men, now that 
you Lacedaemonians seek to abolish equality, and are pre- 
paring to re-establish tyrannies in the cities of Greece — a form 
of government than which nothing is more inequitable — nothing 
more sanguinary ! Yet if to you it seems so good that you 
(92) 2 c 4 



392 SPEECH OF 

wish to impose it on the cities, why do you not first set up a 
tyrant at home, and then endeavour to place them over your 
neighbours. But now while you yourselves have made no 
trial of despotic rule, and while you guard against its intro- 
duction at Sparta with the utmost care, you treat your allies 
with little respect in wishing to subject them to tyrants. If like 
us you had experienced the evils we mention, you would have 
had something better to propose to us on the present occasion. 
The form of government at Corinth was once oligarchical, and 
the Bacchiads ruled the state, who intermarried only within 
their own family. Amphion, a member of this family, had a 
daughter named Labda, who was lame. None of the Bac- 
chiads would take her as his wife : she was therefore espoused 
to Eetion, son of Echecrates, of the town of Petra ; but by 
extraction he claimed descent from the Lapithse, and from 
Caenis. Eetion having no children, either by this wife or any 
other, proceeded to Delphi, to inquire if he should have 
offspring. Immediately as he entered the temple, the Pythian 
addressed him in these verses : — 

"Unpraised Eetion ! yet of merit great! 
Labda is big with ruin for the state 
Of Corinth's tyrants; and her vengeful son 
Shall vindicate the sceptre he has won." 

Such was the response of the oracle to Eeton, which by 
some means came to the knowledge of the Bacchiads, who had 
been unable to perceive the meaning of one before given relat- 
ing to Corinth, and which was to the same purport as that of 
Eetion — it was thus expressed : — 

" Birth of an eagle* in a rocky den, 
A lion fierce frequents the steps of men. 
Attend Corinthians — yes, proud Corinth hear, 
And you who dwell Pirene's fountain near !" 

This first oracle was utterly unintelligible to the Bacchiads ; 
but when they heard that addressed to Eetion, they understood 

* Aetos, an eagle. 

(92) 



SOSICLES. 



393 



the first, agreeing as it did with the second. They therefore 
observed a strict silence on the subject, intending to destroy 
the offspring of Eetion as soon as born. Instantly when that 
event took place, they sent ten of their adherents to the town 
where Eetion resided, *o put the infant to death. When they 
reached Petra, and entered the court of Eetion, they asked for 
the child ; and Labda, knowing nothing of their real intention, 
and supposing that they inquired for it from a friendly feel- 
ing towards its father, brought it and placed it in the hands of 
one of them. While on the way they had agreed that the first 
who received the infant should dash it on the ground. But 
when Labda produced the babe, and gave it to one of these 
men — by a divine providence — it smiled at him, and he noticing 
the smile, was withheld by a movement of compassion from 
killing it. With this feeling he delivered it to another, and 
he to a third, and thus it was passed from one to another of all 
the ten, none of whom would destroy it. Returning it to its mo- 
ther they went out, and standing by the door, they accused and up- 
braided each other, and especially him who had first received the 
infant, because he had not performed the part to which, by the 
agreement he was bound. After some time had thus been 
spent, they resolved again to enter the house, and all to take 
a part in the murder. But mischiefs for Corinth were destined 
to spring up from the offspring of Eetion. And Labda, who 
stood near the door, had heard all that passed among them, 
and fearing lest they should adopt a new resolution, and again 
obtain the infant and put it to death, had taken and hidden it 
in what she deemed the most unlikely place to be discovered, 
namely — a corn-bin ; for she well knew that if they returned 
to search for the infant, they would examine every thing, and 
so it happened. Entering the house again, they looked for it 
in all directions ; but not finding it, they thought proper to 
depart, resolving to assure those who had sent them that they 
had accomplished their commission. And this was the story 
they actually told on their return. 

The son of Eetion grew, and in remembrance of the danger 
he had escaped by being hid in a corn-bin (cypsela) was named 
Cypselus. When he attained manhood, he received at Delphi 

(W) 



394 SPEECH OF 

a response of ambiguous import, on the strength of which, he 
attacked and made himself master of Corinth. The oracre- 
was as follows : — 

"He comes ! the happy man! withm my walis> 
'Tis he shall reign in far-famed Corinth's halls. 
Eetion Cypselus — himself— his son 
Shall hold the throne : but children's children none."* 

Such was the oracle, and in the exercise of despotic power, 
Cypselus banished great numbers of the Corinthians ; many- 
he deprived of their effects, and many more of their lives. 
After reigning thirty years in continued prosperity, he was 
succeeded in the tyranny by his son Periander, who at the 
commencement of his reign ruled with less asperity than his 
father; but became even more sanguinary after he had 
held intercourse by messengers with Thrasybulus, tyrant of 
Miletus. For he had sent a nuncio to Thrasybulus to 
inquire in what way with the greatest security and honour 
he should administer his affairs. Thrasybulus conducted the 
messenger of Periander out of the city, and entered the arable 
lands : as they passed through the standing corn, he questioned 
him again and again on the subject of his mission, and con- 
tinually, whenever he saw an ear of corn rising above the 
common level, he cut it off, and threw it away, until he had 
destroyed all the finest and the tallest ears. "When he had 
in this manner traversed the field, he dismissed the messenger, 
without giving him a word "of instructions. On his return to 
Corinth, he was eagerly asked by Periander to report the 
advice given him by Thrasybulus. But the messenger said he 
had received none from him; and added that he wondered 
he had been sent to consult a man so infatuated, that he 
devastated his own fields — and he related what he had seen 
done by Thrasybulus. But Periander comprehended the 
meaning of the action, and understanding that Thrasybulus 
counselled him to put to death all the most eminent citizens, 

* To reconcile the prediction with the event, some translators 
have altered the text. — Idle solicitude ! as if Apollo were not wont to lie. 

(92) 



sosiCles. 395 

thenceforward displayed the utmost atrocity in his conduct 
towards the people. 

Those who had escaped the cruelties of Cypselus, were put 
to death or banished by Periander. In one day he stripped 
all the Corinthian women of their attire for the sake of his 
{late) wife Melissa (see page 211). He had sent a depu- 
tation to consult the oracle of the dead on the banks of the 
Acheron in Thesprotia, concerning a deposit left with him by 
some guest. But when Melissa appeared, she refused to 
impart the required information, or to declare in what place 
the deposit might be found ; alleging that she was cold and 
naked, for the garments Periander had buried with her were \ 
of no use to her — not having been burned, and in proof of the 
truth of her statement, she reminded Periander that "he had 
put the loaves into a cold oven." Such was the answer 
brought back to him by the messengers ; and Periander, re- 
collecting some circumstances of his conduct towards his 
wife, perceived the truth of the allusion. Forthwith on re- 
ceiving this reply, he caused proclamation to be made, requir- 
ing all the women of Corinth to repair to the temple of Juno. 
They went therefore clad, as for a festival, in their most 
becoming attire; and when assembled, his guards whom he 
had placed for the purpose, stripped them all, as well 
the free as the slaves. These garments were carried to a pit 
where, after invoking Melissa, they were burned : after which 
he sent a second time to the oracle, when the form of Melissa 
made known where she had placed the stranger's deposit. " 

" Such, Lacedaemonians, is a despotical government, and 
such the course of conduct pursued under it ! We Corinthians 
therefore were astonished, when we saw you recal Hippias, 
but we are still more amazed to hear the sentiments you now 
advance. And we conjure you by the gods of Greece, whom 
we invoke as witnesses on the present occasion, not to establish 
tyrannies in the states. But now, if persisting in your de- 
sign, you attempt in violation of all justice to re-establish 
Hippias, know that the Corinthians will not be the approvers 
of the deed." 

Such was the address of Sosicles, who represented Corinth 
(93) 



396 RETREAT OF HIPPIAS. 

in the assembly ; he was answered by Hippias, who also 
invoked the same gods, and said that none more than the 
Corinthians would desire the Pisistratids, when the fated time 
should arrive that they were to be harassed by the Athe- 
nians. This he said, being better instructed than any other 
person in the meaning of the oracles (brought by Cleomenes 
from Athens.) Hitherto the other confederates had kept 
silence. But when they heard Sosicles speak with so much 
freedom, they all, with one voice, made acclamation in favour 
of the opinion of the Corinthian deputy, and conjured the 
Lacedaemonians to attempt no innovation in the government 
of a Grecian city : thus was the enterprize suppressed. 

Repulsed from Sparta, Hippias received from Amyntas 
king of Macedon, an offer of the city Anthemus, and from 
the Thessalians that of Iolcus ; but not accepting either, he 
returned to Sigeum, which Pisistratus had seized from the 
Mitylenians, and over which he had placed as tyrant Hege- 
sistratus, his natural son by a woman of Argos. But he did 
not possess undisputed what had been given him by Pisis- 
tratus, for the Mitylenians and Athenians, during a long 
war, made incursions upon each other — the one from 
Achillea, the other from Sigeum. For while the former 
claimed the territory as their right, the latter denied the claim, 
and affirmed that themselves — and indeed all the Greeks who 
had joined with Menelaus in avenging the rape of Helen, had 
an equal right with the iEolians in the territory of Ilium. 
Among the many events which attended this war, was one in 
which Alcaeus the poet was concerned; — on an occasion 
when the Athenians were victorious. Alcaeus in the retreat 
escaped, leaving his arms in their possession, which they sus- 
pended in the temple of Minerva at Sigeum. The poet com- 
posed an ode on the subject of his misfortune, which he des- 
patched to his friend Melanippus at Mitylene. The differ- 
ence between the Mitylenians and Athenians was at length 
adjusted by Periander, son of Cypselus, whom they chose as 
arbiter. He decided that each, should retain what they 
then held. Sigeum, therefore, remained in possession of the 
Athenians. 

(95) 



ARISTAGORAS AT ATHENS. 397 

When Hippias arrived in Asia, on his return from Lace- 
daemon, he left nothing untried which might render the Athe- 
nians obnoxious to Artaphernes, and laboured by all means 
to bring about the submission of that people to himself and 
to Darius. The Athenians informed of his practices, sent 
deputies to Sardis to dissuade the Persians from giving 
ear to Athenian exiles. But Artaphernes bid them, as 
they valued their own security, receive Hippias again. The 
Athenians far from admitting such a condition, resolved to 
declare themselves the enemies of the Persians.] 



SECTION X. 



BURNING OF SARDIS. 



B.C. 



It was while the Athenians entertained these hostile 
dispositions towards the Persians, who also were incited 503. 
against them, that Aristagoras the Milesian, dismissed 
from Sparta by Cleomenes, arrived at Athens — then the 
most powerful city of Greece. When he appeared before 
the assembly of the people he spoke of the wealth of Asia, 
in the same terms as at Sparta, and described also the 
Persian mode of warfare, mentioning that they carried 
neither shield nor spear, and were therefore easily van- 
quished. Then he proceeded to say that the Milesians 
were a colony from Athens, nothing therefore could be 
more natural than that they whose power was so great, 
should deliver the Ionians. With his earnest entreaties 
he continued to mingle large promises, until he succeeded 
in winning their consent. It seems that it is more easy 
to deceive many than one ; for Aristagoras who failed to 
impose on Cleomenes, the Lacedaemonian, gained his 
(97) 



398 RETURN OF THE PjEONIANS. 

object with thirty thousand Athenians. Their consent 
being- obtained, they voted twenty ships to be sent in aid 
of the Ionians. The command of the armament was con- 
ferred on Melanthius, a citizen of high reputation. 
These ships became the source of calamities, both to the 
Greeks and Barbarians. 

Aristagoras embarking before the fleet sailed, returned 
to Miletus, where he adopted measures from which the 
Ionians could not possibly derive advantage, nor indeed 
was that so much his object as to vex Darius. He des- 
patched a messenger to Phrygia, to communicate with 
the Peeonians, who had been led captive from the banks 
of the Strymon by Megabazus, and who at this time in- 
habited a town and district by themselves, in Phrygia. 
The messenger thus addressed the Paeonians : — "Peeonians I 
I am sent by Aristagoras, tyrant of Miletus, to propose to 
you the means of preservation, if you will yield to his 
advice. — All Ionia has revolted from the king-; you may 
therefore now with safety return to your own land. Only 
repair to the coast, and we will provide for the rest." The 
Peeonians heard this proposition as the most welcome 
news, and collecting* their children and their wives, 
hastened to the coast; yet a few, influenced by their 
fears, remained behind. The fugitives having reached 
the coast, immediately passed over to Chios. Scarcely 
had they landed in the island when a body of Persian 
horse in pursuit came up, but being too late to secure the 
Peeonians, sent to them in Chios a command to return ; 
but they paid no attention to the message. The Chians 
conveyed them to Lesbos, and the Lesbians transported 
them to Doriscus, whence they proceeded by land to 
Pasonia. 

The Athenians arrived with their twenty ships, accom- 
panied by five triremes from Eretria, which joined the 
expedition, not in good will to the Athenians, but rather 
to requite benefits received from the Milesians, for 

(99) 



BURNING OF SARDIS. 399 

these had aided the Eretrians in their contest with the 
Chalcidians, while the Samians supported the Chalci- 
dians against the Eretrians and Milesians. When these, 
with other confederates, had arrived, Aristagoras made 
an attack upon Sardis : he himself did not accompany the 
expedition, but remaining at Miletus, placed the Milesians 
under the command of his brother Charopinus, and the 
forces of the other cities under Hermophantus. The 
Ionians forming this armament coming to Ephesus, left 
their ships at Coressus, in the Ephesian territory, and 
disembarking in great force, took guides from the city, 
and advanced along the banks of the Cayster: then 
traversing mount Tmolus, they descended upon Sardis, of 
which they possessed themselves without opposition — 
excepting only the citadel, which Artaphernes with a 
strong garrison maintained., The confederates were pre- 
vented from pillaging Sardis by an accident. — The greater 
part of the houses in the city were constructed of reeds, 
and even such as were of brick were thatched with reed. 
One of these houses being fired by a soldier, the flames 
spread from house to house, till the whole city was con- 
sumed. While the town was burning, the Lydians and 
the Persians who happened to be in Sardis, seeing them- 
selves surrounded on all sides — for the extremities of the 
town were in flames, and no way of escape from the city 
was open, rushed together into the market-place, and occu- 
pied the banks of the Pactolus. — This river which brings 
a great quantity of particles of gold from Mount Tmolus, 
runs midway through the market-place, and on leaving 
Sardis, empties itself into the Hermus, and that into the 
sea. The Lydians and Persians, crowded together on the 
margin of the river, and in the square, were compelled to 
defend themselves ; while the Ionians seeing some of the 
enemy preparing to repel assaults, and others in great 
force advancing to the attack, retired from the city in a 
panic, and betook themselves to Mount Tmolus, and thence 
(101 



400 DEFEAT OF THE GREEKS. 

under favour of the night, they descended towards their 
ships. 

In the general conflagration the temple of Cybele — 
tutelary goddess of the place, was consumed ; and this 
accident afterwards furnished the Persians with a pretext 
for burning in retaliation the Grecian temples. As soon 
as the Persians on this side the Halys were informed of 
what had happened, they collected and advanced to aid 
the Lydians. But not finding the Ionians at Sardis, 
followed their march, and overtook them at Ephesus. 
Here the Greeks formed in battle array — engaged the 
Persians, and were beaten. Many perished, and among 
other persons of distinction who fell, was Evalcis, 
general of the Eretrians, who had often been crowned in 
the games, and much celebrated by Simonides, of Ceos. 
Those who escaped from the battle dispersed themselves 
among the different cities. 

Such was the, result of the first encounter. The Athe- 
nians after what had happened, entirely abandoned the 
Ionians, and notwithstanding the earnest solicitations of 
Aristagoras by his deputies, they refused to afford any 
further aid. Yet though they had lost the Athenian 
alliance, the Ionians did not remit their preparations for 
continuing the war; indeed their late conduct towards 
the king left them no alternative. Sailing to the Helles- 
pont they reduced Byzantium and all the other cities in 
that neighbourhood. Then issuing from the Hellespont, 
they proceeded to Caria, the greater part of which they 
gained over to join the confederacy. And even Caunus, 
which at the time that Sardis was burned, refused to enter 
the alliance, now joined them. 



(103) 



401 



SECTION XI. 

REVOLT AND REDUCTION OF CYPRUS. 

The Cyprians, excepting only the citizens of Amathus, 
freely offered their aid in the same cause. The circumstances 
of their revolt from the Medes were these. — Onesilus was 
younger brother of Gorgus, king of Salamis (in Cyprus) 
who was son of Chersis, son of Siromus, son of Evelthon. 
This Onesilus had on many former occasions entreated his 
brother to .revolt from the king ; and when informed that 
the Ionians were in rebellion, he urged his advice with in- 
creased vehemence. But finding that he could not per- 
suade Gorgus, he watched an opportunity when he left 
Salamis, and then, aided by his partisans, closed the 
gates. Gorgus thus deprived of his city, fled to the 
Medes. Onesilus then became master of Salamis, and 
succeeded in persuading all the people of the island to 
join the revolt — all I say but the Amathusians, who refus- 
ing to listen to him, were besieged. 

"VVWle Onesilus surrounded Amathus, Darius was in- 
formed of the capture and burning of Sardis by the Athe- 
nians and Ionians, and he was assured that Aristagoras 
the Milesian, was the leader and contriver of the enter- 
prize. It is said that on first hearing the news he made 
light of the Ionians — well knowing that their revolt would 
cost them dear; but he inquired who these Athenians 
were ; and being informed, he demanded his bow, which 
receiving, he adjusted an arrow, and letting fly towards 
heaven, as it cut the air he exclaimed, — " O, supreme! 
grant that I may avenge myself of the Athenians." He 
moreover enjoined one of his ministers whenever he sat 
(105) 2 D 



402 APOLOGY OF HISTIiEUS. 

down to supper, to repeat three times the words — " Sire ! 
remember the Athenians." 

After giving these commands he ordered Histiaeus of 
Miletus, who had long been detained, to be brought before 
him. " Histiaeus," said the king, "I am informed that 
the man you appointed in your place as governor of 
Miletus, has excited a revolt against me, and introducing 
people from the other continent, has associated them with 
the Ionians — to whom I shall render the recompense of 
their deeds — and persuading them to follow the Ionians, 
has taken Sardis from me. Now, therefore, do you 
think well of this revolt ? Or tell me, could these things 
have taken place without your advice ? Take care lest you 
next are held culpable." " My lord," replied Histiaeus, 
" what have you uttered 1 Could I advise any thing from 
which damage, great or small might arise to you ? What 
possible advantage could I aim at in pursuing such a 
course ? What do I lack ? Do not all things abound to 
me, even as to you? Am I not trusted with all your 
counsels ? But if in truth any such movement, as you have 
mentioned has been made by my deputy, be assured it 
originates entirely with himself. Yet indeed I can 
scarcely admit that the Milesians with my deputy have 
actually excited commotions against you. If they have 
done so — if what you hear, O king, be fact, see the result 
of your own conduct in withdrawing me from the coast. 
The Ionians, it seems, since I was removed from them 
have endeavoured to effect what they have long desired. 
Had I been in Ionia not a city would have stirred. 
Suffer me therefore instantly to proceed to Ionia, that I 
may restore order in your affairs ; and as for this Mile- 
sian deputy, who has plotted the mischief, I will deliver 
him into your hands. And having effected all you wish, 
I swear by the gods of the realm that I will not lay aside 
the robe 1 shall wear when I enter Ionia, until I shall have 
rendered Sardinia — that large island — tributary to you." 

(106) 



UNION OF THE CYPRIANS AND IONIANS. 403 

By this speech Histiaeus succeeded in deluding and 
persuading- Darius, who dismissed him, after enjoining him 
to return to Susa when he had accomplished all he had 
undertaken to perform. While these occurrences were 
taking place at Susa — namely, the arrival of the news from 
Sardis — the taking the bow by Darius— the conference 
with Histiseus — his departure and arrival on the coast — 
the following events happened in Cyprus. — As Onesilus 
of Salamis besieged the Amathusians, it was announced to 
him that a numerous Persian fleet under the command of 
Artybius, a Persian, was to be expected in Cyprus. On 
receiving this intelligence, Onesilus despatched heralds to 
the Ionians, to invite their aid. They, without lengthened 
deliberations, arrived with a large force. The Ionians 
were already in Cyprus when the Persians, passing over 
from Cilicia, marched overland to Salamis: meanwhile 
the Phoenicians with the fleet doubled the promontory 
called the Keys of Cyprus. 

In this position of affairs the Cyprian tyrants convoking 
the Ionian commanders thus addressed them. — " Ionians ! 
we Cyprians offer to your choice an alternative ; — will you 
engage the Persians, or the Phoenicians 1 If you prefer to 
try your strength against the Persians in battle array on 
land, now is the time for you to disembark and form your 
line. And then we, going on board your vessels, will 
combat the Phoenicians. But if you would rather your- 
selves attack them, do so, and whatever your choice may 
be, there is need you should act as befits those upon whom 
the liberty of Ionia and of Cyprus depends." " We," 
replied the Ionians, " have been sent out by the Ionian 
confederacy to guard the seas, and not to surrender our 
ships to the Cyprians, or to meet the Persians on land. 
We shall therefore endeavour to acquit ourselves well of 
the part assigned to us. Meanwhile you, remembering" all 
you have suffered under the yoke of the Medes, must 
behave as becomes brave men." 
(109) 2 D 2 



404 BATTLES BY LAND AND SEA. 

After this conference the Persians, having reached the 
plain of Salamis, the Cyprian chiefs opposing their other 
forces to the foreign troops, selected the best of the Sala- 
minians and Solians to form a front against the Persians. 
And Onesilus chose a station for himself, in which he 
might encounter the Persian general Artybius. Artybius 
rode a horse that had been trained to rear against an 
armed man. Onesilus who had been informed of this, 
thus addressed his armour-bearer, a Carian by nation, and 
a man of approved skill in war, and full of courage : — " I 
am told that the horse of Artybius rears and attacks who- 
ever it is opposed to with feet and mouth. Instantly deter- 
mine, therefore, and say whether you will hold yourself 
ready to strike the horse, or Artybius himself." His 
attendant replied, " Sire ! in truth I am ready to do both, 
or either, and whatever you shall command. Yet I will 
declare what seems to me most befitting the occasion. — A 
king or a general should, I think, encounter a king or a 
general. If you kill a man of rank it will be a high 
achievement for you; or should he — yet let it not so 
happen — kill you, you fall by a worthy hand, and so to die 
is to lessen the calamity by half. But we servants should 
contend with servants, or with this horse, whose tricks 
you need not fear. I promise you it shall never more 
rear against an antagonist." 

Presently the battle joined both on land and sea. The 
Ionians in their ships fought bravely that day, and over- 
came the Phoenicians. None distinguished themselves 
more than the Samians. On land the two armies ap- 
proached and engaged, and an encounter took place be- 
tween the two generals : — Artybius riding his horse bore 
up against Onesilus, and he, as he had agreed with his 
armour-bearer, struck at the advancing Persian: when 
the horse reared to plant his feet on the shield of Onesilus , 
the Carian with his hatchet, cut them off. Artybius the 
Persian general instantly fell with his horse. 

(112) 



DEFEAT OF THE CYPRIANS. 405 

While the fight continued, Stesenor, tyrant of Curium, 
having a considerable force under his command, went over 
to the enemy. — The Curians are said to be a colony from 
Argos. This had no sooner happened than the Salaminian 
chariots of war also followed the Curians. The Persians 
by this means obtained superiority over the Cyprians, who 
turned and fled : a great slaughter ensued, and among the 
slain were Onesilus, son of Chersis, who had raised the 
Cypriarj revolt ; and Aristocyprus, son of Philocyprus, 
king of the Solians. This Philocyprus had been celebrated 
in verse by Solon, the Athenian — when he visited Cyprus, 
as the most illustrious of all tyrants. 

The Amathusians whom Onesilus had besieged, cut off 
his head, and carrying it to their city, hung it over one of 
the gates. When it became hollow, a swarm of bees 
entered and rilled it with honey-comb. Observing what 
had happened, the Amathusians consulted the oracle, and 
were answered that " They should take the head down, 
and bury it, and offer annual sacrifices to Onesilus, as to 
a hero; in doing which they would promote their own 
welfare." The Amathusians obeyed the injunction, and 
continue to do so to the present day. 

When the Ionians who had fought off Cyprus were in- 
formed that the party of Onesilus was utterly ruined, and 
that the cities were besieged — all excepting Salamis, 
which the citizens had surrendered to Gorgus their former 
king, they set sail without delay, and returned to Ionia. 
Of all the Cyprian cities Soloe sustained the longest seige ; 
but by undermining the walls on all sides, the Persians 
took it in the fifth month. Thus after enjoying one year 
of liberty, the Cyprians were again reduced to servitude. 



(116) 2 d 3 



406 



SECTION XII. 

SUBJUGATION OF THE REVOLTED PROVINCES. 
DEATH OF ARISTAGORAS. 

Daurises who had married a daughter of Darius, and 
Hymeas, and Otanes, and other Persian generals who also 
had taken daughters of the king, pursuing the Ionians who 
had participated in the attack upon Sardis, vanquished 
them in the field, and drove them on board their ships. 
Then they divided the cities as a spoil among themselves. 
Daurises turning his arms against the cities of the Helles- 
pont, took Dardanum, and Abydos, and Percota, and 
Lampsacus, and Paesus — each in a single day. But while 
on his march from Passus to Parium, news was brought 
him that the Carians, in concert with the Ionians, had 
revolted from the Persians. Returning therefore from 
the Hellespont, he led his army towards Caria. 

The Carians heard of his approach before he arrived, 
and convoked an assembly at the place called the White 
Pillars, on the banks of the Marsyas, a river which after 
flowing through the Idrian territory, empties itself into 
the Maeander. The Carians meeting at this place were 
much divided in opinion. Of these opinions the best, in 
my judgment, was that of Pixodarus, son of Mausolus, 
a Cindyan, who had married a daughter of Syennesis, 
king of Cilicia. He advised the Carians to pass the 
Maeander, and having the river in the rear, to engage 
the enemy, so that being cut off from retreat, and com- 
pelled to stand their ground, they might acquire a courage 
more than ordinary. But this opinion did not prevail ; 
and it was determined rather to let the Persians pass, 
and have the river behind them, in order that if put to 

(118) 



DEFEAT OF THE CARIANS. 407 

flight and overcome in the combat, they might have no 
retreat, but fall into the river. 

The Persians soon afterwards coming up, passed the 
Mseander, and immediately gave battle to the Carians 
on the banks of the Marsyas : a fiercely contested and 
long continued conflict ensued, but at length the latter were 
overpowered by numbers. About two thousand Persians 
fell on the field ; but nearly ten thousand Carians. Those 
who escaped from the battle were shut up at Labranda, 
in the temple of Jupiter Stratius, and in the extensive and 
sacred grove of plane-trees. The Carians are the only 
people known to worship Jupiter Stratius {the military.) 
Inclosed in this place they deliberated on the means of 
safety, and consulted whether it would be best to surrender 
themselves to the Persians, or to abandon Asia for ever. 
While discussing this question, the Milesians with their 
allies arrived to their succour. The Carians now relin- 
quishing their first proposition, prepared to renew the 
war, and when the Persians came up, gave them battle ; 
but after a contest still more obstinate than the former, 
they were defeated. Great numbers fell, especially of 
the Milesians. 

Yet afterwards the Carians recovering from this blow, 
in some measure restored the balance of war. Having 
learned that the Persians were advancing to attack their 
cities, they placed an ambuscade on the road to Pedasus. 
The Persians falling into the snare by night, were put to 
the sword — they and their commanders Daurises, and 
Amorgas, and Sisamaces. With them perished also 
Myrsus, son of Gyges. Heraclides, son of Ibanolis, a 
Mylassian commanded this ambuscade. Thus perished 
these Persians. 

Hymeas, one of the generals who pursued the Ionians 
of the Sardian expedition, turning towards the Propontis, 
captured Cios in Mysia ; but hearing that Daurises had 
left the Hellespont to invade Caria, he led' his army 
(122) 2 d 4 



408 PATE OF ARISTAGORAS. 

thither. There he subdued all the iEolians who occupy 
the Troade, and also the Gergithes — the remaining de- 
scendants of the ancient Teucrians. After making these 
conquests Hymeas died of some disease in the Troade. 
Artaphernes, governor of Sardis, and Otanes, one of the 
three generals, received instructions to invade Ionia, and 
the adjoining territory of iEolia. In the former they took 
Clazomene, in the latter Cyme. 

ThusN fell these cities ; meanwhile Aristagoras the 
troubler of Ionia, and who had produced such extensive 
mischiefs, himself displayed a soul of little elevation ; for 
when he witnessed the course of events he concerted the 
means of retreat. Indeed he perceived it to be impracti- 
cable to gain any advantage over Darius ; convoking his 
partisans, he conferred with them on the state of their 
affairs : — " It will be well," said he, " for us to have an 
asylum in case we should be expelled from Miletus ; I ask 
then whether you would that I should conduct you from 
this place to settle in Sardinia ; or whether you would 
repair to Myrcinus of the Edonians, which was given by 
Darius to Histiaeus, and which he fortified V* 

Hecataeus the historian, son of Hegesander, was of 
opinion that instead of setting out for either of the places 
mentioned, he should, if obliged to leave Miletus, construct 
a fortress in the isle of Leros, and there remain quiet until 
occasion should offer for issuing out and returning to 
Miletus. But the decision of Aristagoras was to proceed 
to Myrcinus. And appointing Pythagoras, a distinguished 
citizen, to the government of Miletus— took with him all 
who approved of his design, and sailed for Thrace ; and 
actually possessed himself of the territory which was the 
place of his destination. But making an excursion thence, 
he himself, with all his people, were destroyed by the 
Thracians, while laying siege to a town from which the 
people would have gone out on terms of capitulation. 

(126) 



BOOK VL 



ERATO. 



SECTION I. 

CONDUCT OF HISTIAEUS. CONCENTRATION OF 
FORCES NEAR MILETUS. 

Thus perished Aristagoras, the mover of the Ionian 
revolt. Histiaeus tyrant of Miletus, as soon as dismissed 
by Darius from Susa, repaired to Sardis. When he 
arrived, Artaphernes, governor of that city, asked him by 
what inducements he supposed the Ionians had been 
led to revolt. But he, affecting utter ignorance of the 
actual state of affairs, declared that he could not tell — 
indeed he was amazed at what had happened. , Arta- 
phernes perceiving that he was using subterfuges, 
and well knowing the real origin of the revolt, said, 
" Histiaeus, the state of the case is this — you made the 
shoe — Aristagoras put it on."* Histiaeus fearing that 
Artaphernes understood his intrigues, lost no time when 
night arrived ; but fled to the coast, and instead of ful- 
filling his promise to Darius to reduce the island of Sar- 

* If the allusion seems to the modern -reader beneath the dignity of 
history, and the quality of the speaker — that is nothing to a translator. 
Larchcr, who renders literally some phrases which may well be gene- 
ralized, thinks it necessary to veil his author's simplicity from the reader 
in this and many similar instances. — The very form and colour of antiquity 
are lost by such squeamish paraphrases. 

(2) 



410 INTRIGUES OF HISTI^US. 

dinla, he sought to invest himself with the command of the 
Ionian forces, that he might carry on the war against 
him. Passing over to Chios, he was arrested by the 
people of that island, who accused him of coming, on the 
part of Darius, to execute some plan of subjugation. 
But when they learned the whole truth, and that he was 
really the king's enemy, they released him. 

When asked by the Ionians during his stay in Chios 
why he had, with so much earnestness, urged Aristagoras 
to revolt, and by this means wrought so much mischief 
to Ionia — instead of revealing to them the true reason, 
he told them that Darius the king had resolved to remove 
the Phoenicians from their own country, and to settle 
them in Ionia, and the Ionians in Phoenicia ; and that 
it was on this account he had despatched the message to 
Aristagoras ; yet in truth the king had formed no such 
design. But Histiseus wished to keep the Ionians in 
alarm. After this he despatched letters to certain Per- 
sians residing at Sardis, who had previously been in cor- 
respondence with him on the subject of the revolt. Her- 
mippus of Atarnea, to whom these letters were entrusted, 
instead of delivering them to the persons addressed, 
gave up the packet to Artaphernes. He, having learnt 
by this means what was going on, commanded Her- 
mippus to deliver the letters as directed, and to bring to 
him the answers which these Persians should address in 
return to Histiaeus. The consequence was an extensive 
discovery, on the ground of which Artaphernes put 
many Persians to death, and caused commotions at 
Sardis. 

Histiseus thus disappointed, was conducted by the 
Chians to Miletus at his own request. But the Mile- 
sians pleased to have freed themselves from Aristagoras, 
and having just tasted the delights of freedom, were the 
less disposed to admit another tyrant within their ter- 
ritory. He then made an attempt to enter the city by 

(5) 



LAST EFFORT OF THE IONIANS. 411 

force during the jnight, but being wounded in the thigh 
by a Milesian, and rejected from his state, he returned 
to Chios ; — thence — as he could not prevail upon the 
Chians to furnish him with ships, he passed over to Mity- 
Iene, and met with better success in his application to the 
Lesbians. They, in eight triremes, sailed under his com- 
mand to Byzantium, where he fixed his station, and 
captured all vessels sailing from the Euxine that refused 
to promise submission to his orders. While Histiseus, 
with the Mitylenians, was acting this part, a large ar- 
mament by land and sea, was expected at Miletus ; for the 
Persian commanders concentrating their forces from all 
quarters, and forming a combined army, advanced against 
that city;— they paid little regard to the other towns. 
In the fleet the Phoenicians displayed the most zeal. 
The Cyprians — lately subdued, formed part of the arma- 
ment, as did also the Cilicians and the Egyptians. 

Informed of the advance of the Persians upon Miletus 
and Ionia at large, the lonians despatched senators to 
Panionium (pp. 69, 71) where, after the council had con- 
ferred, it was resolved — That no land army should be 
sent to oppose the Persians ; but that the Milesians 
should be left to defend their own city. — That the entire 
naval strength of the states, without any exceptions, 
should be fitted out with their full complement of men, 
and assembling with all speed at Lada, should defend 
Miletus by sea. — Lada is a small island lying off Miletus. 
In consequence of this resolution, the Ionian ships, when 
equipped, repaired to the place appointed, with the 
iEolians of Lesbos. The fleet formed their line in the 
following order : — The Milesians themselves, with eighty 
ships, held the eastern wing ; next to these were twelve 
ships from Priene ; then the Myusians, with three ; — 
the Teians with seventeen; next to whom were the 
Chians with one hundred ships. The Erythrseans who 
furnished eight, and the Phoceeans three vessels, ranged 
(8) 



412 INTRIGUES OP THE PERSIANS. 

next in order to the Chians. Seventy vessels from 
Lesbos were placed next to the Phocseans ; and the line of 
battle was concluded on the western wing by the Sa- 
mians, with sixty ships. The entire number of vessels 
constituting the fleet was three hundred and fifty-three. 

The Barbarians numbered six hundred ships. When 
they arrived off Miletus, and the entire land army had 
also arrived, the Persian generals, informed of the num- 
ber of the Ionian fleet, feared that they should not be 
able to overcome it, and so— not being masters of the 
sea, should fail in their attack upon Miletus, and incur the 
king's displeasure. After holding a council, they con- 
voked those Ionian tyrants, who having been displaced 
from their governments by Aristagoras, had taken refuge 
with the Medes, and were present in the army advancing 
against Miletus. These tyrants were addressed in the 
following terms by the Persian generals : — " Ionians ! 
now let the zeal of each of you for the interests of the 
king appear ! Let each of you endeavour to detach the 
people of his government from the confederacy. Promise 
and declare to them that no punishment shall be inflicted 
on them for the revolt — neither their temples nor their 
private edifices shall be burned : no unwonted violences 
shall be put in practice against them. But if they will 
not yield to this proposition — if they are determined to 
give battle, threaten them sternly with the ills that shall 
overtake them ; — that if vanquished in arms, themselves 
will be sold as slaves, their sons mutilated — their daugh- 
ters led off to Bactra, and their lands given to strangers." 

The Ionian tyrants thus commissioned were sent by 
night severally to the people they had governed. But 
the Ionians to whom these communications were sepa- 
rately made, supposing the offer was made by the Per- 
sians to themselves alone, resolutely rejected it, nor would 
listen to the mention of treachery. This attempt was made 
immediately after the arrival of the Persians near Miletus. 

(10) 



ADVICE OF DIONYSIUS. 413 

The Ionians assembling to deliberate at Lada, were 
addressed among others by Dionysius, general of the 
Phocaeans — " Our affairs," said he, " are on the turn of 
a point. — Ionians ! we are now either to be freemen or 
slaves ; — yes, we shall be treated as run-away slaves. 
But yet if you will undergo hardships, and submit to 
immediate toil, you will become equal to contend with 
the enemy — to vanquish him, and you will be free. But 
if you abandon yourselves to present ease and insub- 
ordination, I can entertain no hope of your escaping the 
punishment which the king will exact for your rebellion. 
Yield then to my advice — place yourselves under my 
command, and — so long as the gods distribute fortune 
with even hand, I promise you that either the enemy will 
not engage you, or engaging, shall be vanquished." 

The Ionians surrendered themselves to the direction of 
Dionysius, who every day exercised the fleet, forming it 
in line of battle by the oar, and making the ships suc- 
cessively pass through between the others: meanwhile 
the marines were held under arms, and all the remainder 
of the day the ships were kept at anchor,* so that the 
toils of the men were continued without intermission. 
During seven days the Ionians yielded obedience, and 
accomplished their enjoined task ; but on the eighth — 
having been heretofore unaccustomed to support so much 
labour, and being now worn out by hardships and the heat 
of the sun, they began to confer one with another in such 
terms as these — " What god have we offended that we 
endure these toils? We lost our reason surely, and have 
gone mad, in thus yielding ourselves to the controul of a 

* The ancient ships of war being crowded with men, and unfurnished 
with accommodations, it was usual every day, if possible, to draw them 
ashore : the crews then disembarked, and formed a naval camp, where 
they refreshed, slept, and eat. To restore soldier-like habits, Dionysius 
kept the fleet at anchor throughout the day ; so obliging the men to 
endure long continued privations. 

(12) 



414 SEA FIGHT BETWEEN 

boastful Phocaean — of a man who commands only three 
ships ! and whom we suffer to afflict us with intolerable 
hardships ! Many of us have already fallen under dis- 
eases, and many more have reason to expect the same 
fate. We might as well endure any ills as these which 
actually oppress us ; — even slavery itself, of what- 
ever ^cind, would be preferable to our present woes. 
Come then, let us no longer obey him." Speeches like 
this were presently followed by universal disobedience to 
orders. The men pitched tents like a land army on the 
island— reposed under the shade, and would neither re- 
embark, nor be exercised. 



SECTION If. 

NAVAL ENGAGEMENT. FALL OF MILETUS. 

When the commanders of the Samians became ac- 
quainted with what was passing among the Ionians, they 
listened to the offers of iEaces son of Syloson, who had 
before exhorted them on the part of the Persians to 
abandon the Ionian confederacy. For seeing that an 
utter dissolution of military discipline among the Ionians 
had taken place, they plainly perceived it to be imprac- 
ticable longer to withstand the forces of the king, espe- 
cially as they well knew that even if the fleet of Darius, 
now at sea, were captured, another five times as large 
would presently appear in its place. Influenced also by 
the hope of preserving their temples and their homes, 
they seized the occasion offered them by the bad conduct 
of the Ionians, to desert them. This iEaces, from whom 
the Samians accepted the conditions, was the son of 

(13) 



THE PERSIANS AND IONIANS. 415 

Syloson, son of iEaces, and tyrant of Samos, and had 
been deprived of his government along with the other 
Ionian tyrants, by Aristagoras of Miletus. 

The Phoenicians first advanced, and the Ionians formed 
their line to oppose them : nearing each other the battle 
joined, but what happened then, or which of the Ionians 
behaved disgracefully — which with valour, I am not able 
certainly to declare ; for they mutually accuse each other. 
The Sanlians are reported — according to their previous 
agreement with iEaces, to have hoisted sail when the 
battle joined; and falling from the line to have returned 
to Samos. Yet eleven ships are excepted, the captains 
of which refusing to obey their commanders, remained 
and fought. Afterwards the people of Samos, in comme- 
moration of the conduct of these eleven captains, erected 
a column on which, with the names of their ancestry, 
their bravery was recorded. This colunln now stands in 
the forum at Samos. The Lesbians, who were next to 
the Samians, seeing them retire, did the same, and the 
example was followed by many of the Ionians. 

Among those who maintained the contest, none suffered 
more severely than the Chians ; for none displayed more 
gallantry or unyielding valour. They furnished, as I 
before said, one hundred ships, and in each vessel were 
forty chosen men of Chios. Though witnessing the 
treachery of so many of their confederates, they disdained 
to follow the'bad example, but with the few who remained 
true to the cause, they continued to break the enemy's 
line, and captured many of their ships, until most of their 
own were sunk or disabled. Then, with such as remained, 
they returned to their island. 

Those Chians vessels which had suffered so much injury 
as to be disabled, when pursued, sought shelter at Mycale. 
There the crews running their ships aground, left them, 
and proceeded overland. These Chians passed on to- 
wards Ephesus, and it happened that they reached the 
(16; 



416 FATE OF THE 

city during the night, and while the Ephesian women 
were celebrating the festival called Thesmophoria. The 
Ephesians who had yet heard nothing of what had hap- 
pened to the Chians, seeing their territory invaded 
by a body of armed men, doubted not that they were 
brigands, come to seize their women. The whole popula- 
tion coming out to protect them, put the Chians to the 
sword. Such was their unhappy fate ! 

Dionysius the Phocaean, when he perceived the affairs 
of the Ionians to be ruined, sailed away with three ships 
he had captured from the enemy — not indeed to Phocsea, 
for he well knew that with the rest of Ionia it must be 
reduced to slavery : — but he proceeded directly to Phoe- 
nicia, where he seized some merchant vessels, laden with 
valuable commodities : thus enriched he sailed to Sicily. 
Thence he made predatory excursions upon the Carthage- 
nians and Tyrrhenians — always avoiding to injure the 
Greeks. 

Having gained this naval victory, the Persians imme- 
diately besieged Miletus by sea and land, and by under- 
mining the walls, and bringing to bear against them all 
kinds of military engines, they took it by assault {or, with 
the citadel?) This happened in the sixth year after the 
revolt of Aristagoras. The people were sold as slaves. 

[Thus the calamity corresponded with the prediction of the 
oracle relating to Miletus. On an occasion when the citizens 
of Argos inquired at Delphi concerning the conservation of 
their city, they received an answer belonging to others as well as 
themselves : — for in the response which concerned the Argives, 
there was a parenthesis uttered for the Milesians ; the former I 
shall record when I come to speak of the Argives : what related 
to the Milesians — not then present, was as follows : — 

"And then Miletus, versed in mischief late, 
A feast and prey to many yield thy state : 
Thy matrons wash the feet of long-haired bands ; 
And Didymus is served by other hands." 

(19) 



MILESIANS. 417 

The Milesians received the accomplishment of this pre- 
diction when the greater part of them fell by the swords 
of the long-haired Persians, and when their wives and chil- 
dren were sold for slaves. As for the temple of Didymus — 
the fane and the oracle — all was pillaged and burned. The 
treasures contained in this temple I have already mentioned 
on several occasions (p. 44, 175.)] 

Those of the Milesians who had been made prisoners 
were conducted to Susa. King Darius did not inflict 
upon them any further sufferings, but established them on 
the coast of the Erythraean sea, in a town situated at the 
mouth of the Tigris, named Ampe. The Persians re- 
served to themselves the country around Miletus, and the 
plain, and bestowed the highland territory upon the 
Carians of Pedasus. 

The sufferings of the Milesians from the Persians re- 
ceived not a grateful return of sympathy from the people 
of Sybaris, who, driven from their city, occupied Laos 
and Scidros. When Sybaris was captured by the Cro- 
tonians, all the Milesians, young and old together, shaved 
their heads, and made a great lamentation : for the two 
cities had been united in the bonds of the strictest friend- 
ship. The Athenians displayed a very different spirit. — 
Among the many proofs they gave of their sorrow on ac- 
count of the capture of Miletus was this: — When 
Phrynichus produced a drama entitled — the Capture of 
Miletus, the whole theatre burst into tears at the perform- 
ance, and even condemned the poet to pay a fine of a 
thousand drachms for having reminded them of mis- 
fortunes which they regarded as their own. The future 
performance of the play was also forbidden. 

Thus was Miletus stripped of its inhabitants. 



(22) 2 e 



418 



SECTION III. 

SAMIANS IN SICILY — DEATH OF HISTI^US. 

Those of the Samians who possessed any property were 
far from being pleased with the conduct of their generals 
towards the Medes, and in a council held immediately 
after the naval engagement, resolved to leave the island 
and found a colony before the tyrant iEaces should arrive ; 
lest by remaining they should become his slaves, and the 
subjects of the Medes. About the same time it happened 
that the Zanclaeans of Sicily sent messengers to Ionia, 
inviting that people to Calacte, where they should found 
an Ionian city. The spot called Calacte (beautiful coast) 
is on that part of Sicily which is opposite to Tyrrhenia. 
The Samians alone of all the Ionians actually set out in 
consequence of the invitation; excepting that some 
fugitive Milesians accompanied them. While the Sa- 
mians on their way to Sicily were off the coast of the 
Epizephyrian Locrians, it happened that the Zanclaeans 
under their king Scythes were employed in the blockade 
of a Sicilian town, of which they wished to possess them- 
selves. Anaxilas, tyrant of Rhegium, who was then at 
variance with the Zanclaeans, gaining intelligence of what 
was taking place, held correspondence with the Samians, 
and persuaded them to dismiss the thought of proceeding 
on their intended voyage to Calacte, and rather to possess 
themselves of Zancla, which was then destitute of men. 
The Samians yielded to the advice, and took Zancla. 
The Zanclaeans instantly on learning that their city was 
occupied, advanced to its rescue, inviting the aid of Hip- 
pocrates, tyrant of Gela, who was their ally. But when 

(23) 



THE SAMIANS IN SICILY. 419 

Hippocrates advanced with his army, he put in irons 
Scythes — prince of the Zanclaeans, and who had already 
lost his city, with his brother Pythogenes, and sent them 
to Inycus. The other Zanclseans, after a friendly con- 
ference and interchange of solemn engagements with the 
Samians, he delivered up to them. The conditions ex- 
acted by him were that he should have half of all the 
effects and slaves found in the city, and the whole of what 
was in the open country. The greater part of the Zan- 
claeans he held in chains as slaves; but gave up about 
three hundred of the principal citizens to the Samians to 
be slaughtered ; they however did not consummate the 
deed. 

Scythes, prince of the Zanclaeans, escaped from Inycus 
to Himera, and from thence found his way to Asia, and 
presented himself to king Darius, who esteemed him as 
the most honourable of all the Greeks that had frequented 
his court, for having asked permission to do so, he visited 
Sicily, and returned thence to the king. He terminated 
peacefully a long and happy life at the Persian court. 
The Samians who (by retiring from Santos) had freed 
themselves from the Persians, possessed without difficulty 
the fair city of Zancla. After the naval engagement off 
Miletus, the Phoenicians, at the command of the Persians, 
conducted iEaces to Samos, who was highly esteemed by 
them, and considered as their benefactor. Of all those 
who had revolted against Darius, the Samians alone — 
in consideration of their leaving the line in the naval 
action — were allowed to preserve their city and their 
temples unburned. Immediately after the fall of Miletus 
the Persians subdued Caria, in which province some of 
the people voluntarily submitted, while others were com- 
pelled to bow by force. 

While Histiseus of Miletus was off Byzantium, seizing 
the Ionian merchant vessels on their return from the 
Euxine, he was informed of the fate of Miletus. He 
(26) '2 E 2 



420 ENTERPRISES AND FATE 

then left his affairs in the neighbourhood of the Helles- 
pont, under the management of Bisaltes, son of Apollo- 
phanes, of Abydos, and himself, with the Lesbians, 
sailed to Chios.; but the garrison not admitting him, he 
fought them in a place called Coeles {the hollows) and 
put many to the sword : the remaining Chians who had 
suffered so much in the action off Miletus, Histiaeus, 
with the Lesbians under his command, succeeded in sub- 
duing. He made his attack from Polichna. 

Some presages usually foreshow the approach of signal 
calamities to a city or a nation. Thus to the Chians, 
before these events occurred, there happened some ex- 
traordinary portents. In the first place, when they sent 
to Delphi a chorus of a hundred youths, two of them 
only returned home, the ninety-eight having been carried 
off by pestilence. In the next place, about the same 
time, and very soon before the naval action, the roof of a 
building in the city fell upon a number of children while 
learning, so that of a hundred and twenty children, one 
only survived. Such were the signs sent to them by the 
god. Presently the sea-fight took place, which brought 
the commonwealth upon its knees. Then followed the 
arrival of Histiaeus, with the Lesbians, who found little 
difficulty in subduing a people already ruined by mis- 
fortunes. 

From Chios Histiaeus proceeded to attack Thasos, at 
the head of a large body of Ionians and iEolians : while 
surrounding Thasos, news reached him that the Phoeni- 
cians, parting from Miletus, were advancing against the 
other parts of Ionia. He therefore left Thasos unsub- 
dued, and proceeded with his whole force to Lesbos ; 
while there, his army suffering famine, he passed to the 
main, intending to reap the harvests of Atarnea, and 
afterwards of the plain of Caecus, belonging to the My- 
sians. But it happened that Harpagus, the Persian 
general, was then occupying that territory with no incon- 

(28) 



OF HISTIjEUS. 421 

siderable force ; and giving battle to Histiseus as soon as 
he landed, took him prisoner, and destroyed the greater 
part of his army. The circumstances of his capture were 
these. — The Greeks fought the Persians at Malena in 
Atarnea, and for a long time maintained their ground; 
but at length yielded under a charge of the Persian 
cavalry, and by this means the conflict was decided. 
When the Greeks gave way, Histiseus entertaining a 
hope that the punishment due to his present offence 
would not be inflicted by the king, was seized by a strong 
love of life — as he fled he was arrested by a Persian 
soldier, who was about to pierce him to the heart ;. but 
Histiasus, in the Persian language, made himself known » 
If he had been preserved, and led before Darius, I am 
of opinion that he would have suffered no punishment, 
but would have received pardon for his fault. It was in 
this very expectation, and lest if suffered to escape their 
hands, he should regain his influence with the king, that 
Artaphernes, governor of Sardis, and Harpagus, whose 
captive he was, as soon as he reached Sardis, affixed his 
body to a cross, and preserving his head with condiments, 
sent it to Darius at Susa. When the king was informed 
of all that had taken place, he severely blamed those 
concerned in the transaction for not bringing him alive into 
his presence. The head he caused to be cleansed, adorned 
for burial, and interred with the honour due to a man 
who had performed signal services to the king and the 
Persians. 



(30) 2 e 3 



422 



SECTION IV. 

REDUCTION OF THE ISLANDS — MILTIADES. 

The Persian fleet after passing tne winter near Miletus, 
set sail in the following year, and without difficulty took 
possession of the islands nearest to the continent — namely 
Chios, Lesbos, and Tenedos. The Barbarians as soon as 
they had made themselves masters of an island, captured the 
inhabitants as fish are taken by a drag-net from a pond ; for 
joining hand to hand, they extended their line across from 
the northern to the southern shores, and so traversing the 
island, caught the inhabitants. A like principle was acted 
on in taking the Ionian cities of the continent ; yet the same 
mode of capturing the people was not there practicable. 
Nor did the Persian generals fail to accomplish the 
threats they had uttered when the two armies were 
opposed ; for on taking any city they selected the hand- 
somest youths to be mutilated, and the most beautiful 
virgins were torn from their families and sent to the king. 
They burned also the cities with the temples. Thus was 
Ionia a third time reduced to servitude; once by the 
LydiaUs, and then twice by the Persians. 

Leaving Ionia, the fleet proceeded to the Hellespont, 
and captured all the towns on the left {European side) 
for those on the right had already been subdued by the 
Persians, advancing from the continent. On the European 
side of the Hellespont is the Chersonese, containing 
many cities, as Perinthus, and the fortified places of 
Thrace, and Selybria, and Byzantium. The people of 
Byzantium and of Chalcedon, on the opposite coast, did 
not wait the arrival of the Phoenicians, but leaving their 

(33) 



MILTIADES THE ELDER. 423 

abodes, betook themselves to the shores of the Euxine, 
and founded the city Mesambria. After burning the 
towns on these coasts, the Phoenicians turned towards 
Proconnesus, andArtace; here also they gave all to the 
flames. Then they returned to the Hellespont, accom- 
plishing the capture and destruction of such towns as 
they had failed to take on their first arrival. Cyzicus 
they did not attack, for the people of that place had be- 
fore submitted to the> king by treaty, concluded with 
CEbares son of Megabazus, governor of Dascylium. The 
Phoenicians succeeded in their attack upon every town of 
the Chersonese, excepting only Cardia. 

[These towns had hitherto been ruled by Miltiades, son of 
Cimon, son of Stesagoras, who had received the tyranny from 
Miltiades, son of Cypselus, and he had acquired it in the follow- 
ing manner : — The Dolonces of Thrace had held the Cher- 
sonese : they, being pressed upon in war by the Absinthians, 
sent their chiefs to Delphi, to inquire concerning the war. The 
Pythian told them " to lead with them, as founder of a colony, 
him who, on their return from the .temple, should first invite them 
to his house." The Dolonces proceeding along the sacred way, 
passed through Phocis and Bceotia, and as no one had invited 
them, they turned towards Athens. Pisistratus at that time 
held the sovereign power at Athens. Miltiades, also, son of 
Cypselus, exercised considerable influence. His family was 
of the rank to maintain chariots for the games, and reckoned 
their descent from iEacus and iEgina ; though in later times 
they had been numbered among the Athenian citizens. The 
first of the family naturalized at Athens was Philaeus, son of 
Ajax. This Miltiades, being seated in the porch before his 
own house, when the Dolonces passed, and having noticed 
that their dress and javelins were foreign, challenged them — 
and when they approached, offered them shelter and enter- 
tainment. They accepted the invitation, and while receiving 
his hospitalities, made known to him the answer of the oracle, 
and entreated him to yield to the commands of the god. 
(35) 2 e 4 



424 MILTIADES 

Miltiades already vexed with the rule of Pisistratus, and 
wishing to leave his country, listened favourably to the pro- 
position. Presently he set out for Delphi, to inquire of 
the oracle whether he should comply with the petition of the 
Dolonces. 

The Pythian ratified their request, and so Miltiades, son of 
Cypselus, who before had won prizes in the chariot race, 
taking with him all the Athenians who were disposed to share 
in the enterprize, sailed with the Dolonces, and possessed 
himself of the territory. Those who introduced him estab- 
lished him as tyrant of the country. The first thing he did,' 
was to construct a wall to protect the Chersonese : it was 
carried across the isthmus from Cardia to Pactya, and was 
designed to preclude the predatory incursions of the Absin- 
thians. The width of the isthmus is thirty-six furlongs, and 
the length of the Chersonese, reckoning from the isthmus, is 
four hundred and twenty furlongs. Having fortified the neck 
of the Chersonese, and by this means repelled the Absin- 
thians, he next attacked Lampsacus ; but the people of that 
city placed an ambuscade, and took him prisoner. Miltiades 
was in favour with Croesus king of Lydia, who on learning what 
had happened, sent a message, commanding the Lampsacians 
to release him — " or he would destroy them like pines." The 
people of Lampsacus were quite unable to divine the meaning 
of Croesus when he threatened " to destroy them like pines." 
At length, after many surmises, one of the elders guessed the 
true meaning — for he reminded them that the pine is the only 
tree which, if once cut down, puts forth no shoot, but utterly 
perishes. Dreading the power of Croesus, they therefore 
released Miltiades. 

Not long after he had thus escaped by the intervention of 
Croesus, Miltiades died childless, and left his sovereignty and 
his property to Stesagoras, son of his brother Cimon, by the 
mother. After his death, the people of the Chersonese, ho- 
noured Miltiades with sacrifices, and horse-races, and gym- 
nastic contests, as it is customary to do to a founder : in these 
games no citizen of Lampsacus is permitted to contend for the 
prize. The war with that city still continued, when Stesa- 

(38) 



THE YOUNGER. 425 

goras met his death, which happened from the stroke of an 
, axe, given him in the Prytaneum by a man who, under the 
guise of a deserter, proved himself to be indeed worse than 
an open enemy. Stesagoras died childless, and immediately 
Miltiades, son of Cimon, and brother of the late Stesagoras, 
was sent to assume the government by the Pisistratids. They 
had before treated him with kindness at Athens, as if they 
had not been parties to the death of his father Cimon — the 
circumstances of which I shall presently relate. When he 
arrived, he kept himself within his palace, as if, forsooth, he 
would pay respect to his brother Stesagoras. On hearing 
this, the principal persons from all parts of the Chersonese 
came together, and in a body presented themselves to condole 
with him ; but he made them his prisoners. He also strength- 
ened his rule over the Chersonese, by maintaining a body of 
five hundred auxiliaries, and he married Hegesipyla, daughter 
of Olorus, king of Thrace.] 

Miltiades, son of Cimon, had not long established him- 
self in the Chersonese, when he was involved in troubles 
greater than those which at first beset him. In the third 
year after his arrival, he fled before the nomadic Scythians, 
who, harassed by Darius, had collected their forces and 
advanced even as far as the Chersonese. Miltiades, not 
daring to await their approach, left the country ; but 
when they retired the Dolonces brought him back. These 
events happened three years before (the Ionian troubles).* 

When he learned that the Phoenicians were at Tenedos, 
Miltiades, filling five triremes with his treasures, sailed 
away for Athens. Parting from Cardia, his course lay 
through the gulf of Melas, and as he coasted the Cher- 
sonese, the Phoenicians met with him. Miltiades himself 
with four of his vessels escaped to Imbros ; the fifth was 
pursued and taken by the Phoenicians : and it happened 

* A chronological difficulty besets this passage, with which the general 
leader need not be troubled. Probably the text is corrupted. 

(41) 



426 PACIFICATION OF IONIA. 

to be the cue commanded by his eldest son Metiochus — 
not by the daughter of Olorus-.uking of Thrace, but by 
another wife. When the Phoenicians on capturing the 
vessel discovered that the captain was son of Miltiades, 
they, in expectation of winning especial favour, conducted 
him to the king ; for it was Miltiades who had advised 
the Ionians to yield to the entreaties of the Sythians, and 
to dissolve the bridge, and retire to their homes. But 
Darius, when Metiochus was brought to him by the 
Phoenicians, instead of doing him any ill, loaded him with 
favours — bestowing upon him a house, with possessions, 
and a Persian wife, who bore him children that took rank 
among the Persians. From Imbros Miltiades proceeded 
to Athens. 

In this year the Persians ceased to carry on any further 
hostilities against the Ionians ; but rather conferred upon 
them some signal benefits. Artaphernes, governor of 
Sardis, summoning deputies from the different cities, 
obliged them to enter into engagements among them- 
selves to abstain from violences, and to refer their dis- 
putes to legal decisions. In effecting this improvement 
he exerted his power. He also measured the Ionian 
lands by the Persian parasang — equal to thirty furlongs, 
and according to these measurements he regulated the 
tribute to be paid by each district. The taxes as then 
established by Artaphernes have continued to be paid 
from that time to this ; and indeed they were then nearly 
the same as they had been before. These proceedings 
restored peace to the country. 



(42) 



427 



SECTION V. 

ATTEMPT UPON GREECE UNDER MARDONIUS. 

In the spring-, the other generals having been dis- 
missed by the king, Mardonius, son of Gobryas, descended 
towards the coast at the head of a very numerous army 
of foot, and attended by a large body of marines. Mar- 
donius was young, and had lately married Artazostra, 
daughter of king Darius. When he arrived in Cilicia 
he himself embarked, and proceeded with the entire 
fleet. While the land forces, under the command of 
other generals, marched towards the Hellespont. Coast- 
ing the shores of Asia, he reached Ionia, where he 
effected a change which will appear incredible to those 
Greeks who cannot believe that Otanes — one of the seven 
Persians, proposed to establish democracy in Persia. — 
Mardonius deposed all the Ionian tyrants, and established 
democracy in each state. This done, he urged Kis course 
towards the Hellespont, where collecting together a vast 
assemblage of vessels, he transported his numerous army 
and marched forwards on European ground, professedly 
to attack Eretria and Athens. 

These two cities were the professed objects of the ex- 
pedition ; but in truth it was intended to subdue as many 
as possible of the Grecian states. The fleet in the first 
instance reduced Thasos* without opposition ;• meanwhile 
the army imposed the yoke of slavery upon those of the 
Macedonians who hitherto had been free; for all the 
tribes of that nation nearest to Asia^ were already sub- 
jugated. The fleet passing over from Thasos, coasted the 
main land as far as Acanthus; from thence they pro- 
(44) 



428 FAILURE OF MARDONIUS. 

ceeded to double mount Athos. But while sailing round 
the headland, a violent and embarrassing gale of wind 
sprung up from the north, by which great numbers of 
the ships were cast upon Athos, and utterly broken. — 
It has even been said that as many as 300 ships 
were lost, with 20,000 men. The waters around mount 
Athos are peculiarly infested with monsters of the deep — 
these caught and devoured many — many were dashed 
on the rocks — many perished because unskilled in swim- 
ming, and some died of cold. Such was the fate of the 
fleet. 

While Mardonius with the army was encamped in 
Macedonia, the Brygian Thracians fell upon them by 
night, killed many, and even wounded Mardonius : not- 
withstanding this success, they did not escape subjugation 
by the Persians ; for Mardonius would not quit the coun- 
try until he had vanquished them. Having accomplished 
this conquest, the check the army had received from the 
Brygians, and the signal discomfiture of the fleet at 
Athos, induced him to retrace his steps ; and thus dis- 
gracefully did this expedition retire into Asia. 

In the next year after these events, the Thasians, having 
been accused by their neighbours of hatching rebellion, 
Darius despatched a messenger, commanding them to 
demolish their fortifications, and to send their ships to 
Abderal The Thasians having suffered a siege from 
Histiaeus, and being in possession of ample revenues, 
employed their wealth in constructing ships of war, and 
in surrounding their city with a wall stronger than here- 
tofore. The Thasian revenues proceeded in part from 
possessions on the continent, and in part from the mines 
of the island. The gold mines of Scapte-Hyla ordinarily 
produce eighty talents, those of the island somewhat less ; 
yet so much that the Thasians, though commonly exempt 
from taxes on the produce of the soil, commanded a 
yearly revenue from the continent and from the mines of 

(46) 



HERA LPS SENT TO GREECE. 429 

two huadred talents, and sometimes it amounted even to 
three hundred- I have myself seen these mines. The 
most admirable of them are those which were discovered 
by the Phoenicians, who with Thasos colonized the island, 
which received from him its name. The Phoenician 
mines are found in that part of the island which lies mid- 
way between ^Enyra and Ccenyra, and opposite to Samo- 
thrace. A mountain of no inconsiderable magnitude has 
been utterly subverted by the continued quest of ores. 
The Thasians, at the command of the king, actually de- 
molished their walls, and sent all their ships to Abdera. 

The next step taken by Darius was to try the dispo- 
sitions of the Greeks, and to discover whether they 
would engage in war, or surrender themselves to him. 
He therefore despatched heralds separately to the several 
states throughout Greece, " to demand earth and water 
for the king." These being despatched to Greece, others 
were sent off to the several tributary maritime states, 
commanding them to provide ships of war, and transports 
for cavalry. The requisition was complied with by these 
cities. Meanwhile the heralds arrived in Greece, and 
many of the continental Greeks yielded the gifts demanded 
by the Persian ; nor did any of the islanders from whom 
they were asked refuse. Among these who presented 
earth and water to Darius were the people of ^Egina : — 
no sooner had this been done, than the Athenians took 
the alarm, not doubting that they had done so with an ill- 
intention towards themselves, and with the resolution to 
join the Persians in the invasion of Attica. They there- 
fore readily seized the pretext for repairing to Sparta, 
where they accused the iEginetans of having acted as 
traitors against Greece. 

On this accusation Cleomenes, son of Anaxandrides, 
the then king of Sparta, passed over to ^Egina, intending 
to seize the most culpable of the citizens ; but in prose- 
cuting this attempt he was opposed by many of the 
(50) v 



430 CLEOMENES AT jEGINA. 

iEginetans, among- whom the most distlnguislted was 
Crius, son of Policritus, who said, " that he should not 
with impunity take away one citizen of iEgina — that he 
acted on this occasion without the consent of his com- 
monwealth, and only upon the instigation of Athenian 
gold ; — otherwise he would have been accompanied by 
the other Spartan king." This he said on the ground of 
instructions received from Demaratus. Thus repulsed 
from iEgina, Cleomenes, when about to depart, asked 
Crius what his name might be — when he told him, the 
Spartan king replied, " Now then, Ram, (crios, a ram,) 
tip your horns with brass ; for you are about to butt upon 
signal mischiefs." 

Meanwhile Demaratus, son of Ariston, who remained 
at Sparta, accused Cleomenes. He was himself king, 
and though sprung from the younger branch of the same 
stock, was in no other respect inferior to the descendant 
of Eurysthenes. 



SECTION VI. 



KINGS OF SPARTA. 



[The Lacedaemonians, in opposition to all the poets, affirm 
that it was by king Aristodemus himself, son of Aristomachus, 
son of Cleodaeus, son of Hyllus, they were conducted into the 
country they now inhabit ; and not by the sons of Aristodemus. 
Not long after their arrival, say they, Argia, wife of Aristo- 
demus, who was daughter of Autesion, son of Tisamenes, sou 
of Thersander, son of Polynices, brought forth twins: — the 
king their father lived only long enough to see the infants. 
The Lacedaemonians of that age wished, in conformity with 

(52) 



THE SONS OF ARISTODEMUS. 431 

their laws, to invest the eldest son with the kingly dignity ; 
but they knew not which of the two to take, for the children 
were alike in figure and size. Unable to decide even after 
some time, any better than at first, they asked the mother; 
but she replied that, " even she could not distinguish the one 
from the other." — She did indeed know, but professed her 
ignorance, in order that, if possible, both might be made kings. 
Under this incertitude, the Lacedaemonians sent to Delphi to 
inquire what they should do. The Pythian enjoined them " to 
account both sons their kings ; but to honour most the eldest." 
This answer left them in the same difficulty as before, in dis- 
covering which was the eldest. At length a Messenian, 
named Panites, advised them to watch the mother, and to see 
whether she invariably washed and fed one of her sons before 
the other ; and if so, they might consider their doubts ended, 
and the wished-for discovery to be made. But if she deviated 
in her treatment of them from the same course, and attended 
to them interchangeably, they might conclude that she knew 
no more than themselves on the subject of their inquiry ; and 
in that case they must adopt some other course. In pur- 
suance of the advice of the Messenian, the Spartans having, 
unknown to her, observed the conduct of the mother of the 
sons of Aristodemus, found that in fact she gave to one the 
honour of her first cares in washing and dressing. They 
therefore considered the one so distinguished by the mother as 
the elder of the two, and in consequence reared him in public, 
and gave him the name Eurysthenes : the younger they called 
Procles. When they attained manhood, though brothers, a 
variance arose between them, which continued unabated 
throughout their lives, and the same dissension has been per- 
petuated between their descendants. 

Such is the account given by the Lacedaemonians ; but I 
must now relate what is said by the other Greeks. These 
exhibit exactly the succession of Dorian kings, up to Perseus, 
son of Danae — omitting the god — and prove them to have 
been Greeks ; for even so early they were numbered among 
the Greeks. I have said up to Perseus, and have not as- 
cended higher, because Perseus has no sir-name derived from 
(53) 



432 THE SPARTAN KINGS. 

a mortal father ; and may thus be compared with Hercules, 
in regard to Amphitryon. I may therefore properly stop at 
him. But if we ascend from Danae, daughter of Acrisius, 
it will appear that the ancestors of the Dorian princes were of 
Egyptian origin. Thus are these genealogies reckoned by the 
Greeks. Yet according to the Persian traditions, Perseus 
was an Assyrian, who became a Greek, though his progenitors 
were not ; yet they agree that he was not of kin to the ances- 
tors of Acrisius, who were Egyptians, as the Greeks also 
affirm. — But enough of this. How, being Egyptians, they 
obtained sovereignty over the Dorians, has been explained by 
others, and I may omit to declare ; but shall rather record 
some particulars which others have passed over. 

The privileges granted by the Spartans to their kings are 
these : — Two priesthoods — that of Jupiter Lacedaemonius, and 
that of Jupiter Uranius. — They may carry war into whatever 
country they think fit ; nor has any Spartan the right to oppose 
them in the exercise of this prerogative, or in attempting to do 
so, becomes obnoxious to the charge of sacrilege. On the 
march, the kings lead the van, and bring up the rear in a 
retreat : a band of one hundred chosen men attends them in 
the field, as a body guard. In their expeditions, they are 
allowed to take as much cattle as they please, and the skins 
and shoulders of all the victims are their perquisite. These 
are their privileges in time of war. 

Those enjoyed in time of peace are the following: — in all 
public religious festivals the kings take the first seats. They 
are first served, and each receives a double portion of all the 
meats : their's is the right of offering the first libations ; and 
they claim the skins of all animals sacrificed. On the new 
moon, and the seventh day of every month, a perfect victim is 
given to each of them at the public cost, which is sacrificed 
in the temple of Apollo; also a medimnus of barley-meal, and 
a quart of wine — Laconian measure. In the games they take 
the chief seats. They nominate whom they please among the 
citizens to entertain public guests. It is the part of each 
king also to choose two Pythia ons employed to 

be sent to Delphi to consult the j and they are maintained 

(57) 



THE SPARTAN KINGS. 433 

at the public cost by the kings at home. If the kings do not 
make their appearance at the public supper, two choenices of 
barley-bread are sent home to each of them, with a small pint 
of wine : — if they are present, they have a double portion of 
all. The same honour is conferred upon them, when invited 
to a private house. To the kings is committed the conser- 
vation of the responses of oracles ; yet the Pythions are privy 
to them also. It is their province, and their's alone, to 
decide in the following cases, and in these only — an heiress 
who has not been affianced by her father is given in marriage 
by the kings. They decide questions relative to the high- 
ways. Any one who wishes to adopt a child, must enter upon 
the engagement in presence of the kings. They sit in the 
senate of eight- and-twenty elders, or if not present, their 
place is supplied by one of the senators who is nearest of kin 
to them, and who then gives three votes — two for the kings, 
and one for himself. 

Such are the honours conferred by the Spartans upon their 
kings during life : on occasion of the death of a king, horse- 
men are instantly despatched in all directions through Laconia, 
to announce the event : at Sparta the women go about the 
city beating caldrons, upon hearing which two free persons 
from every household — a man and a woman — are by an inevi- 
table necessity required to disfigure themselves as mourners ; 
or in default of doing so, are liable to heavy inflictions. The 
usages of the Lacedaemonians, in relation to the sepulture of 
their kings, are very much the same as those of the barbarians 
of Asia ; for in truth almost all the barbarians observe the 
same ceremonies on occasion of a royal death. When a Lace- 
daemonian king dies, a certain number of Lacedaemonians 
from all parts of the country, besides the Spartans, are com- 
pelled to attend the funeral. When these, with the helots and 
Spartans, amounting to many thousands, are assembled, men 
and women together; they all zealously strike their foreheads, 
and utter unbounded lamentations, and profess always that this 
last of their kings was the best. When a king dies in war, 
they form an effigy of him, which is placed in a richly furnished 
litter, and borne forth. During ten days after the interment 
(58) 2 f 



434 CLEOMENES AND DEMARATUS. 

no assemblies of the people are held, nor any sittings of magis- 
trates ; but the whole time is given up to mourning. 

In another instance also they resemble the Persians ; for on 
the death of a king, his successor immediately on his accession 
remits the payment of all sums due by any Spartan to the late 
king, or to the public : — among the Persians, the successor to 
the throne remits the tribute due in all cities of the empire. The 
Lacedaemonians agree in some customs with the Egyptians: 
among both people the function of heralds, pipers, and cooks, 
is hereditary : — the son of a piper is a piper — of a cook, a 
cook — of a herald, a herald. Nor is the son ever excluded 
from his hereditary office because he is excelled by some one 
in the excellency of his voice ; but the right of birth rather is 
respected.] 



SECTION VII. 

CLEOMENES AND DEMARATUS. 

At the time of which we have been speaking, Cleo- 
menes being- at iEgina, promoting the common interests 
of Greece, was accused by Demaratus, moved not so 
much by good-will to the people of that island, as by 
envy and jealousy. Cleomenes on his return from iEgina 
resolved to deprive Demaratus of the kingly dignity, 
and in making the meditated attack he was furnished 
with a pretext. 

[Ariston, king of Sparta, had two wives, but no children ; 
after a time he married a third wife. He was on terms of 
most intimate friendship with a certain citizen of Sparta, whose 
wife was a woman of singular beauty, though she had been 
at first remarkably ugly. She was the daughter of opulent 

(61) 



ARISTON. 435 

parents, and her nurse perceiving that they were greatly afflicted 
by the extreme deformity of their child, devised the following 
course: — she took her every day to the temple of Helen, 
which stands in a place called Therapne, above the temple of 
Phoebeum. When the nurse brought the child, she stood 
with it before the statue, and prayed the goddess to dispel the 
deformity of the babe. One day it is affirmed, as the nurse 
was returning from the temple, a woman presented herself, 
and inquired what she carried in her arms. " An infant," re- 
plied the nurse. The woman then asked that it might be 
shewn to her ; but the nurse refused ; for the parents had 
enjoined her to let it be seen by no one : still the woman 
urged her request, and displayed so much desire to see it, that 
at length she showed her the child. — The woman touching its 
head, pronounced that it should excel in beauty all the women 
of Sparta. From that very day its appearance changed. 
When she became marriageable, she was espoused to Agetus, 
son of Alcides, the friend of Ariston. Ariston smitten with 
the beauty of his friend's wife, adopted this means to make her 
his own. — He engaged to give to his friend whatever he should 
choose among all his treasures, on condition that he in return 
would do the like. Agetus having no fear for his wife, know- 
ing that Ariston was married, consented to the proposal ; and 
they confirmed the conditions with oaths. Then Ariston gave 
whatever it was that Agetus selected from the treasures of the 
king, and in like manner sought the fulfilment of the agreement 
from his friend, and attempted to take his wife home to him- 
self ; but he wished to except her from the engagement ; yet 
at length feeling himself compelled by his oath, and the fraud 
that had been practised, he suffered her to be led away. Aris- 
ton having put away his second wife, married this third, who ere 
long gave birth to Demaratus. The news that a son was born 
to him was brought to Ariston by one of his servants, while 
seated on the bench with the ephors. He exclaimed with an oath , 
" This cannot be mine." This was heard by the ephors ; yet at 
the moment they gave it no particular attention. As the child 
grew, Ariston repented of what he -had said, for altogether he 
reckoned Demaratus to be his son. He received the name 
(63) 2 f 2 



436 CLEOMENES AND 

Demaratus, because the whole Spartan people (demos) had 
uttered prayers (am) that Ariston, the most approved of all 
their kings, might have a son. 

In progress of time Ariston died, and Demaratus succeeded 
to the throne. But it seems to have been inevitable that the 
word which had been noised abroad should deprive him of his 
honours. He had become odious to Cleomenes, first when he 
led off the army from Eleusis, and now on account of his con- 
duct when Cleomenes went against the medizing JEginetans. 
Eager to avenge himself, Cleomenes entered into an agreement 
with Leotychides, son of Menares, son of Agis, (or Agesilaus) 
and of the family of Demaratus ; — he was to follow Cleomenes 
to JEgina, if the latter could place' him in the room of Dema- 
ratus on the throne. Leotychides entertained an extreme 
animosity against Demaratus, because, when affianced to Per- 
cale, daughter of Chilon, son of Demarmenus, Demaratus had 
supplanted him in the connexion, and had actually carried off 
Percale, and retained her as his wife. Such was the cause of 
the enmity borne by Leotychides to Demaratus; and, insti- 
gated by Cleomenes, he declared with the solemnity of an 
oath, that " Demaratus not being the son of Ariston, had not 
lawfully become king of Sparta." This solemn affirmation 
he followed up by every where recalling to the recollection of 
the people the speech of Ariston, when informed that he had a 
son, and when he declared that it was not his. Leotychides 
taking advantage of this declaration, made it appear that 
Demaratus, not being the son of Ariston, was not by right 
king of Sparta, and he adduced the ephors as witnesses who 
had sat with Ariston and had heard what he said. 

At length, as disputes ran high on the question, the Spartans 
thought proper to consult the Delphic oracle, and to ask, " If 
Demaratus was the son of Ariston." It was by the manage- 
ment of Cleomenes, though not generally known to be so, 
that this reference was made to the Pythian, and he had 
engaged the interest of Cobon, son of Aristophantus — a man 
possessed of very great influence at Delphi ; and Cobon pre- 
vailed with Perialla, the priestess of Apollo, to give such a 
response as Cleomenes wished. And so, when consulted by 

(66) 



DEMARATUS. 437 

the messengers, the Pythian decided that Demaratus was not 
the son of Ariston. Some time afterwards this intrigue be- 
coming matter of notoriety, Cobon fled from Delphi, and 
Perialla the chief priestess was deprived of her dignity. Ne- 
vertheless by these means Demaratus lost the sovereignty, and 
afterwards retired from Sparta, and went over to the Medes, 
on occasion of the following contumely. — After his deposition 
he was chosen to exercise a magistracy, and while presiding 
at certain games of the Spartan youth, Leotychides, who had 
become king in his place, sent an attendant, mockingly and in 
contempt, to ask Demaratus " what he thought of the magis- 
tracy after the sovereignty?" He, vexed by the question, 
replied — " That indeed he had made trial of both— not so 
Leotychides. As for the question now put to him, it would 
prove the source either of numberless woes, or of numberless 
benefits to the Lacedaemonians." So saying he drew his cloak 
over his face, and issuing from the theatre, went home. In- 
stantly making the necessary preparations, he sacrificed an ox 
to Jupiter, and then called for his mother. 

When she arrived, he placed in her hand some of the 
entrails ;* and in the tone of supplication thus addressed her. 
— " O my mother, T adjure you by all the gods whom I invoke 
as witnesses, and especially by Jupiter, patron of our house, 
tell me truly and plainly who is my father. — In the late con- 
tentions, Leotychides affirmed that your former husband was 
my father : others speak still more reproachfully of my birth. 
I beseech you therefore, by the gods, tell me the truth : if 
you are in fault you are not alone : — Ariston even is blamed 
by many of the Spartans " His mother thus replied : " Since, 
my son, you urge me with these entreaties, I will narrate to 
you the whole truth. — Soon after my marriage to Ariston, a 
spectre, in the likeness of my husband, appeared to me, and 
placed a crown which he brought with him on my head. 
When he departed, Ariston himself came, and seeing me 
wearing a crown, asked who it. was that had given it me. I 
said, he— he denied this— I affirmed the same with an oath, 

* The form of administering an oath. 

(69) 2 f 3 



438 DEPOSITION AND FLIGHT 

and blamed him for denying it. Ariston on heaving my so- 
lemn attestation perceived that there was something super- 
natural in what had happened, especially as it appeared that 
the crown had been taken from the shrine of the hero Astra- 
bacus, which stands near the palace gate ; and also because 
the diviners pronounced the spectre to have been the hero 
himself. You have then, my son, the whole truth, and all 
you wish to know. The hero Astrabacus — or Ariston is your 
father. Your enemies indeed strongly insist upon the declara- 
tion of Ariston, in the presence of many witnesses, when 
informed of your birth, that you were not his son. But he 
Uttered that word under the influence of mistaken notions; 
for there are great diversities in the time of birth : and soon 
afterwards Ariston himself acknowledged the folly of what 
he had said. Nor need you give heed to other stories con- 
cerning your birth ; for you have now heard the entire truth : 
and may the wife of Leotychides, and of all who affirm these 
scandals, themselves fall under such reproaches as have been 
heaped upon me !" 

Having learned what he wished, Demaratus furnished him- 
self with provisions for the journey, and proceeded to Elis, 
professedly in his way to Delphi, to consult the oracle. The 
Lacedaemonians suspecting that he meditated flight, pursued 
him ; yet he succeeded in passing over from Elis to Zacynthus. 
The Lacedaemonians crossed to that island also--— laid hands on 
him, and seized his attendants ; but the Zacynthians refused 
to give him up, and in the end he sailed from Zacynthus to 
Asia, and repaired to the court of Darius, who received and 
entertained him magnificently, and conferred upon him lands 
and towns. Such were the circumstances under which Dema- 
ratus arrived in Asia, and such were his fortunes. At Sparta 
he had distinguished himself by many achievements as well 
as by his wisdom in council. At the Olympic games he had 
carried the prize in the chariot-race — an honour not obtained 
by any other Spartan king. 

Leotychides, son of Menares, having dethroned Demaratus, 
took his dignity. A son was born to him named Zeuxidamus ; 
or, as some of the Spartans called him, Cyniscus. This 

(71) 



OF DEMARATUS. 439 

Zeuxidamus did not succeed his father as king of Sparta, but 
died before him, leaving a son named Archidamus. Having 
lost his son, Leoty chides married a second wife, Eurydame, 
the sister of Menius, and daughter of Diactoris. No male 
offspring was the fruit of this marriage ; but a daughter only, 
named Lampito, whom he bestowed upon Archidemus, son of 
Zeuxidamus. Neither did Leotychides end his days at Sparta, 
but, as I shall mention, in some sort yielded revenge to 
Demaratus. — He commanded the Lacedzemonians in Thessaly, 
and might readily have reduced the country ; but accepted a 
large sum of money from the enemy. He was detected sitting 
in the camp on a bag, filled with silver. Condemned by the 
tribunals, he was driven from Sparta, and his house rased ; he 
fled to Tegea, where he died. But these events happened 
long after the time of which we are speaking.] 



SECTION VTIl. 

ACTIONS AND FATE OF CLEOMENES. 

[Cleomenes having succeeded in his endeavours against 
Demaratus, associated Leotychides with himself, and pro- 
ceeded against the iEginetans, towards whom he entertained a 
deep grudge on account of the affront already received. The 
iEginetans finding that both the Spartan kings were coming 
against them, thought proper to make no further resistance; 
but selected ten of the citizens — the most eminent for cha- 
racter, wealth, and family — among whom were Crius, son of 
Polycritus, and Casambus, son of Aristocrates, who possessed 
the chief influence in the island, and conducted them to 
Attica, where they surrendered them to the custody of the 
Athenians — the enemies of JEgina. 

Afterwards, when the intrigues practised against Demaratus 
(74) 2 F 4 



440 ACTIONS AND FATE 

became notorious, Cleomenes, dreading the resentment of the 
Spartans, retired into Thessaly. Thence he came into Arca- 
dia, where he endeavoured to excite troubles, and to move the 
Arcadians against Sparta. Among other oaths which he in- 
duced them to take was one obliging them to follow him 
wherever he might lead them. He was very desirous of lead- 
ing the Arcadian chiefs to Nonacris, to make them swear by 
the water of Styx, which is said to be found at that city. 
A small quantity of water only is visible, which distils in 
drops from a rock, and falls into a cavity : this cavity is fenced 
about on all sides. Nonacris, where this spring is found, is a 
city of Arcadia, near to Pheneus. The Lacedaemonians, in- 
formed of the intrigues of Cleomenes, were influenced by their 
fears to place him again on the throne, and they restored to 
him all his former prerogatives. But presently after his return 
he was seized with a frenzy, to which indeed he had before 
been liable. With his sceptre he would strike in the face any 
Spartan he happened to meet. On observing "this insane con- 
duct, his family confined him in stocks. While so bound it 
happened that, seeing himself left with a single attendant, he 
asked him for a knife : the man at first refused ; but being a 
helot, was at length intimidated by his threats, and gave him 
one. Cleomenes seizing the weapon, began to hack his legs — 
making long gashes in the flesh : from the legs he ascended 
to the thighs, and from thence to the hips and the loins ; and 
then reaching the belly, made many deep incisions and so 
died. The Greeks for the most part affirm that this happened 
to him because he corrupted the Pythian in the matter of 
Demaratus. But the Athenians differing from the majority, 
affirm that it was because, when he invaded Eleusis, he cut 
down the sacred grove of the goddesses. Again the Argives 
say that it was in punishment of his having put to the sword 
those Argives who, after escaping from the field, had taken 
refuge in the temple of Argos, and then, in utter contempt of 
its sanctity, burned the grove. 

For on one occasion when Cleomenes was consulting the 
oracle, it was told him by the god that he should take Argos. 
in consequence of this intimation he marched at the head of 

(76) 



OF CLEOMENES. 441 

the Spartans to the banks of the river Erasinus, which is said 
to flow from the lake Stymphalus ; for that lake disappearing 
in a chasm is believed to come forth in the territory of Argos, 
where it receives from the Argives the name, Erasinus. Cleo- 
menes arriving at this river, slew victims to it, but the sacrifice 
by no means sanctioned his passing the stream ; upon which 
he said he commended the Erasinus for not betraying its people ; 
but yet the Argives should have no reason to rejoice. He then 
returned, and led his forces to Thyrea, and after sacrificing a 
bull to the sea, embarked his army and proceeded to Tirynthia 
and Nauplia. Informed of this descent, the Argives has- 
tened to relieve their towns on the coast. When they ap- 
proached Tirynthus, in the spot called Sepia, they formed 
their camp at a short distance from that of the Lacedaemonians. 
They did not fear to engage the enemy in the open field ; but 
dreaded lest they should be taken by stratagem ; for such 
was the import of the response given to them and the Mile- 
sians in common by the Pythian (p. 416,) which was as 
follows : — 

When o'er the men a female hand prevails, 
And Argive honour wins ; — then Argos wails : 
And future men shall say, the lancing spear 
Has slain a coiling snake— inspiring fear. 

The Argives were therefore held in alarm by these intima- 
tions ; and they [resolved to avail themselves of the enemy's 
herald, so that as often as he gave any orders to the Lacedae- 
monians, the Argives, on their part, performed the same 
evolutions. When Cleomenes perceived that the Argives 
executed whatever movements his own herald proclaimed, he 
commanded his men, when the herald uttered the word for 
dinner, to take their arms, and advance upon the Argives : 
this was accomplished, and the Lacedaemonians rushed upon 
them while taking their repast in obedience to the signal. 
Many were put to the sword, and many more taking refuge in 
the grove sacred to Argus, were there surrounded. 

Cleomenes then adopted the following course ;— he had with 
(79) 



442 REASONS OF THE FATE 

him certain deserters, from whom he learned the names of the 
Argives who were shut up in the precincts ; he therefore sent 
a herald, who calling them severally by name, said that he had 
their ransom -money. Among the Peloponnesians the price of 
ransom from captivity is fixed at two mines for each man. 
About fifty of the Argives obeying the summons, came out, 
and were put to death by Cleomenes. This was concealed 
from those in the enclosure by the thickness of the grove, which 
prevented those within from seeing what took place without. 
At length one of them, climbing a tree, beheld the fact, and 
then no more of them issued when called for. After this 
Cleomenes commanded all the helots in attendance to heap 
combustibles around the grove ; and when this was done he 
set fire to it. While it was still burning, he asked one of the 
deserters to what god the grove was consecrated ; he replied — 
"to Argus." On hearing this, Cleomenes uttered a deep 
groan, and exclaimed — " O Apollo ! how hast thou deceived 
me in the response — telling me that I should take Argos, and 
now I conjecture that the prediction is fulfilled !" 

Cleomenes then sent away the greater part of the army to 
Sparta, and himself taking a thousand of the best troops, 
went to perform a sacrifice at the temple of Juno. But when 
he wished to offer the victim on the altar, the priest forbad 
him, saying that no stranger might sacrifice in that temple. 
Cleomenes on receiving this refusal, ordered the helots to drag 
the priest from the altar, and to scourge him. He then him- 
self performed the sacrifice, and returned to Sparta. On his 
return his enemies arraigned him before the ephors, and accused 
him of having taken a bribe not to capture Argos, when he 
might easily have done so. He alleged in his defence — whe- 
ther truly or not I am unable certainly to affirm — " that he 
had believed when he destroyed the sacred grove of Argus, 
that the prediction of the oracle was accomplished, and that 
until he had learned from sacrifices whether the god would 
favour or oppose the attempt, he ought not to attack the city. 
That when the sacrifices were auspicious in the temple of 
Juno, a flame had burst from the bosom of the statue ; whence 
he had concluded certainly that he should not capture Argos ; 

(82) 



OF CLEOMENES. 443 

whereas, had the flame appeared on the head of the statue, 
he should have inferred that he was to take it, even to the 
citadel ; but coming from the breast, he believed he had 
accomplished all that the god intended to be done." This 
defence appeared to the Spartans so sincere and reasonable, 
that he was acquitted by a large majority of voices. 

Argos was so stripped of men by what had happened, that 
the slaves possessed themselves of the supreme power, which 
they continued to hold, managing all affairs, until the sons of 
those who had perished came of age, when they regained 
possession of the state, and expelled the slaves. These, after 
a contest, took Tirynthia. At length peace was established 
between them. But afterwards a certain diviner, named 
Cleander, of Phigalia in Arcadia, visited the slaves, and 
incited them to attack their masters. A war of long conti- 
nuance was the consequence, in which the Argives did not 
gain the final advantage without great difficulty. 

It was therefore on account of his conduct towards them- 
selves that the Argives affirmed Cleomenes to have gone mad 
and miserably perished. But the Spartans themselves deny- 
ing that the madness of Cleomenes was occasioned by any 
daemon, affirm that it proceeded from the immoderate use of 
ardent spirits, learned by keeping company with the Scythians. 
The nomadic Scythians, after having been invaded by Darius, 
indulged the desire of vengeance. With this intention they 
sent an embassy to Sparta, wishing to form an alliance, and 
proposing to cross the Phasis and invade Media, while, at the 
same moment, the Spartans should advance against the Per- 
sians from Ephesus, and so unite their forces. The Spartans 
say that Cleomenes contracted a great intimacy with the 
Scythians who came to Sparta on this business — a too great 
intimacy — for he learned from them to drink unmixed liquors ; 
and it was from this cause, as they believe, that he became 
mad. And hence it is that when they wish to indulge in 
strong drink, the Spartans are accustomed to say — " Let us 
be Scythians." Such is the opinion of the Spartans relative 
to the madness of Cleomenes ; — for my own part, I think that 
it was the wrongs of Demaiatus that were avenged upon him.] 
(84) 



444 



SECTION IX. 

AFFAIRS OF ^EGINA — STORY OF OLAUCUS. 

[When the IEginetans were informed of the death of Cleo- 
menes, they despatched deputies to Sparta, to inveigh against 
Leotychides for the detention of the hostages at Athens. 
When brought before the tribunal to prefer their complaint, 
the Lacedaemonians acknowledged that the IEginetans had 
been ill-treated by Leotychides, and they adjudged him to be 
carried to IEgina, as security for the citizens detained at 
Athens. When the IEginetans were about to take Leoty- 
chides, they were addressed by Theasides, son of Leoprepis, 
a man of distinction at Sparta, who thus spoke : — " Men of 
IEgina, what is it you would do, in taking a king of Sparta 
as hostage for mere citizens of your own ? If moved by anger 
on the moment the Spartans have thus decreed, take heed 
lest ere long, if you act in this way, they invade your island, 
bringing with them utter destruction." On hearing this re- 
monstrance, the IEginetans refrained from the attempt, and 
it was agreed that Leotychides should follow them to Athens, 
in order to obtain the surrender of the hostages. 

When he arrived and demanded the surrender, the Athe- 
nians not willing to deliver the persons in their custody, had 
recourse to an evasion, saying that, as these IEginetans had 
been committed to them by the two kings, they could not 
think it right to deliver them to one without the other. On 
their giving this denial, Leotychides thus addressed them — 
" Athenians, take what course you please — if you surrender 
the hostages you will indeed act justly — not so if you detain 
them. Yet I will narrate to you what once happened at 
Sparta, connected with a deposit. — Among us Spartans it is 
related that three generations before the present time, there 

(86) 



STORY OF glAucus. 445 

was at Lacedaemon a citizen named Glaucus, son of Epicydes, 
who on various accounts was held in high repute, and espe- 
cially for his probity, in which excellence he was deemed to 
surpass all his contemporaries. We say then that when the 
determined moment arrived, there happened to come to Sparta 
a certain Milesian, who wished to confer with him, and who 
thus explained his business : — I am, said he, a Milesian, and 
I come — Glaucus, wishing to avail myself of your probity, 
which is famed, not only in all other parts of Greece, but 
throughout Ionia. Taking into consideration the constantly 
insecure state of Ionia, and the settled condition of Pelopon- 
nesus, and perceiving that in the former, fortunes are not long 
in the same hands, I have, after much deliberation, thought 
proper to convert the half of my property into silver, and to 
lodge it with you, being well assured that what 1 leave with 
you will be safe. Receive therefore my treasures, and with 
them take and preserve these symbols, and whoever shall 
present the same and demand the money, surrender it to him. 
Thus spoke the Milesian stranger, and Glaucus accepted the 
deposit upon the conditions mentioned. It was not till long- 
afterwards that the sons of him who had given these trea- 
sures in trust arrived at Sparta. Addressing themselves to 
Glaucus they exhibited the symbols, and demanded the silver. 
But he, rebutting the demand, thus replied to them — I re- 
member no such transaction, nor Can I recalUo mind any of 
the circumstances of which you speak. Yet I am willing, if 
it should be brought to my recollection, to do whatever is 
just, and if indeed I received the money — to surrender it. 
But if, in fact, ] have received nothing, I shall avail myself 
of the laws of Greece against you. I therefore defer settling 
the business with you four months from the present day. 
The Milesians thus deprived of their property went their way 
in great grief. Glaucus then repaired to Delphi to consult 
the oracle whether he might make a prey of the money by a 
(false) oath. The Pythian replied to him in these verses : — 

" Son of Epicydes ! your oath retains — 
Just for the moment — all the plundered gains. 

(86) 



446 THE iEGINETANS AND 

Sware then ; for death, alike the just — the knave 
Lays undistinguished in the silent grave. 
But the False Oath a direful monster sends, 
Which, footless hastens — which, though handless rends 
His house and offspring whom the gods detest. 
While his— »who fears an oath, are ever bleret." 

On hearing this answer, Glaucus prayed the god to pardon 
him what he had said. But the Pythian replied that " to 
tempt the god and to perpetrate the deed were one and the 
same thing." Glaucus returned and sent away the Milesians 
with the money committed to his trust. But now, Athenians, 
I will explain why I have recounted this story to you. A t 
the present time there remains not one descendant of Glaucus, 
nor any house which is believed to have been his. Every 
thing belonging to him is uprooted from Sparta. Well is it for 
those who entertain no thought but that of surrendering a 
deposit when demanded !" ' Thus spoke Leoty chides ; but the 
Athenians, not being disposed to listen to him, he took his 
departure. 

The JEginetans while yet they had not expiated the injuries 
which to gratify the Thebans they had inflicted on the Athe- 
nians, pursued the same course of violence. Aggravated 
against them, and thinking themselves the injured party, they 
made preparations to wreak vengeance upon them. The 
sacred ship called Theoris,* was lying at Sunium. This, 
by forming an ambuscade, the .ZEginetans captured, while 
filled with distinguished Athenian citizens, whom they put 
in irons. After suffering so grievous an injury the Athe- 
nians hastened to devise every possible means of retaliation. 

A distinguished citizen of iEgina, named Nicodromus — 
son of Cmethus, being at variance with the people, had 
banished himself from the' island ; but learning that the Athe- 
nians were on the point of attacking the JEginetans, he 
entered into an engagement with them to betray the island to 
them ; and the day was fixed when he should make the at- 
tempt, and when they should be there to aid the enterprise. 

* Sent annually from Athens to Delos, with sacrifices for Apollo. 

(88) 



ATHENIANS. 447 

According to this agreement Nicodromus seized what is called 
the old town. But the Athenians did not appear at the 
appointed day, for they did not then happen to have at com- 
mand ships in sufficient number to contend with the fleet of 
the iEginetans; and while they were negociating with the 
Corinthians to lend them ships, the enterprise failed. The 
Corinthians were at that time on terms of strict friendship 
with the Athenians, and on the present occasion yielding to 
their request, afforded them twenty ships, at five drachms 
each ; for their law forbad them to make a gift. These ves- 
sels, joined to their own, composed a fleet of seventy ships, 
with which they proceeded to iEgina : but arrived there the 
day after that which had been agreed upon. Nicodromus 
finding that the Athenians did not appear at the appointed 
time, went on board a vessel and escaped from iEgina; he 
was attended by other iEginetans, whom the Athenians settled 
at Sunium, whence, at a later time, they were accustomed to 
make predatory excursions upon the island. 

The opulent class at iEgina now prevailed over the common 
people, who had revolted with Nicodromus, and having van- 
quished them, led them to execution : but on this occasion 
they incurred a guilt which no sacrifices could afterwards avail 
to expiate ; but they were driven from the island ere the god- 
dess (Ceres) was propitiated. They had made prisoners of 
seven hundred of the common people, whom they were con- 
ducting forth to destruction : but one of these, escaping from 
detention, took refuge in the vestibule of Ceres Thesmo- 
phora (the legislatress) and seizing the ring of the door, held 
it fast. Those who were sent to take him, not being able by all 
their efforts to pull him away, cut off his hands, and so led 
him to execution, while the hands were left entangled in the 
ring. 

Such was the treatment which the iEginetans dealt, one to 
another. Meanwhile the Athenians approached with their 
fleet of seventy ships, and engaging those of iEgina, defeated 
them. The vanquished called upon the Argives to whom they 
had before applied to aid them. But these refused to do so, 
alleging as a ground of complaint, that the ships of iEgina, 
(92) 



448 INVASION OF ATTICA. 

forcibly seized by Cleomenes, had approached the coast of 
Argolis, and the crews disembarking with the Lacedaemonians, 
had invaded their lands : — the crews also of some Sicyonian 
ships had joined in this descent. In consequence the Argives 
had imposed a fine of a thousand talents upon them — five 
hundred for each people. The Sicyonians, acknowledging 
their fault, had agreed to pay one hundred talents, and were 
acquitted. But the iEginetans, more haughty, refused to 
acknowledge themselves in the wrong. On this account no 
aid from the commonwealth was afforded to the request of the 
JEginetans; yet a thousand volunteers offered their services. 
These, under the command of Eurybates — a man accom- 
plished in the five exercises,* repaired thither. Few of them 
returned to their homes, the greater part having been put to 
the sword by the Athenians in iEgina. Among these was Eu- 
rybates their captain, who after vanquishing three antagonists 
in successive single combats, received his death in the fourth 
from the hand of Sophanes of Decelea. While the Athenian 
fleet was in disorder the JEginetans attacked them, and ob- 
tained the advantage — capturing four of their vessels with 
the men on board.] 



SECTION X. 

INVASION OF ATTICA — BATTLE OF MARATHON. 

While the Athenians and iEginetans were carrying- on 
this contest, the Persian pursued his design. Every day 
his attendant reminded him of the Athenians, and every 
day the Pisistratids beset him with accusations against 
that people. Darius being furnished with a pretext, 

* Leaping, running, throwing the disque, the javelin, and wrestling. 

(94) 



ADVANCE QF THE PERSIANS. 449 

meditated the conquest of all those Greeks who had 
refused to offer him earth and water. Mardonius having 
been unfortunate in the late expedition, was removed 
from the command, which was conferred upon Datis, 
a Mede, and upon Artaphernes, son of Artaphernes, and 
nephew of the king. These generals were sent against 
Eretria and Athens, with an injunction from Darius to 
bring both the Athenians and the Eretrians as slaves 
before him. ' 

After being instituted in their command, the two 
generals left the king, and repaired to Cilicia, and with 
a very numerous and well appointed army, formed their 
camp in the plain of Aleum. The combined fleet furnished 
by the several nations from whom the levies had been 
required, arrived also on the coast, together with the 
cavalry-transports, which Darius had ordered to be pre- 
pared the preceding year, by the tributary people (of the 
maritime provinces.) The horses were embarked in these 
( transports, and the army in the ships : — six hundred 
triremes sailed to Ionia. Thence, instead of coasting the 
continent, by the Hellespont and Thrace, the fleet parted 
from Samos, and held its course through the islands of the 
Icarian sea. They proceeded in this direction, as I think, 
from fear of doubling the promontory of Athos, in at- 
tempting which the year before the fleet had so severely 
suffered. Besides, not having in the former expedition 
taken Naxos, they now felt compelled to advance against 
it. 

Leaving the Icarian sea, the "Persians approached 
Naxos, which, in recollection of their late attempt, they 
held themselves bound first to attack. The Naxians 
without waiting for the enemy, fled towards their moun- 
tains. The Persians seizing for slaves such as they could 
find, burned the temples and the city, and then proceeded 
against the other islands. Meanwhile the inhabitants of 
Delos abandoning their island, took refuge in Tenos. As 
(97) ♦ 2 g 



450 TH,E PERSIANS AT DELOS. 

the fleet passed Delos, Datis advancing before the other 
ships, would not permit any to approach the island, but 
ordered them to pass over to Rhenea; and when he 
learned where the Delians had gone, he despatched a 
herald with this message :— " Sacred men ! why do you 
flee 1 Why entertain an opinion of me so unfavourable t 
My own dispositions and the commands of the king, forbid 
my permitting any injury to be done to an island, or to its 
inhabitants, where the two gods (Apollo and Diana) 
were born. Return therefore to your homes, and possess 
your island." Such was the message sent to the Delians. 
Then Datis burned three hundred talents of frankincense 
which he heaped upon the altar. 

The Persian commander now advanced with the fleet 
towards Eretria first ; leading with him the lonians and 
the iEolians. After he had taken his departure, the 
island, as the Delians affirm, was shaken, and this was 
the only earthquake which, to the present time, has ever 
been felt there. By this portent the god indicated to men 
the woes that were about to come upon them. For under 
the three successive reigns of Darius, son of Hystaspes, 
and Xerxes, son of Darius, and Artaxerxes, son of Xerxes, 
a greater amount of calamity fell upon Greece, than 
during the twenty generations that preceded the first of 
those, kings. These misfortunes were occasioned in part 
by the Persians, and in part also by the contentions for 
dominion among the Grecian chiefs. It was not there- 
fore without cause that Delos, hitherto unmoved, should 
quake : — and thus it was written in the prediction con- 
cerning that island : — 

And Delos fixed I them shall move. 

The names of the three kings may thus be rendered in 
Greek — Darius, the Coercer : Xerxes, the warrior : 
Artaxerxes, the great warrior; and truly the Greeks 
have not erred in giving these princes the appellations 
by which they are known among us. 

(98) 



ATTACK UPON ERETRIA. 451 

The Barbarians, parting from Delos, approached the 
other islands, from which they took the men to serve in 
the army, and also brought away the children of the 
islanders as hostages. After touching at the several islands 
they anchored off Carytus (in Eubcea.) Now the Carys- 
tians not only refused to give hostages, but professed that 
they would not join in a war against their neighbours the 
Eretrians and Athenians. The Persians therefore be- 
sieged the town, and ravaged the country, until at length 
the Carystians submitted to the conditions imposed on 
them. The Eretrians when informed of the advance of 
the fleet against them, besought the aid of the Athenians, 
who refused not their assistance, but granted them the 
services of four thousand colonists who occupied the 
grazing meads of the Chalcidians. But there was a want 
of sane counsels among the Eretrians ; for between those 
who sent for the Athenians there existed a difference of 
intention, some advising to abandon the city and to retire 
to the fastnesses of the island ; while others, meditating 
only their private advantage with the Persians, concerted 
the means of betraying the commonwealth. iEschines, 
son of Nothon, a man of distinction at Eretria, being well 
informed of the views of both parties, explained the state 
of affairs to the Athenian auxiliaries on their arrival, and 
he entreated them to retire to Attica, that they might 
escape the ruin about to fall on the Eretrians. The 
Athenians yielded to this advice, and passing over to 
Oropus, saved themselves from destruction. 

The Persian fleet drew to shore on the Eretrian terri- 
tory, at Tamyne, at Chcerea, and at iEgilia ; where they 
disembarked their cavalry, and made preparations for 
attacking the enemy. But the Eretrians had resolved 
not to issue from the town, or to give battle ; and as it 
had been decided not to abandon their city, they gave all 
their attention to the defence of the walls. Furious 
assaults were made upon the defences, in which, during 
(101) 2 g 2 



452 THE PERSIANS AND ATHENIANS 

six days, many fell on both sides. But on the seventh, 
Euphorbus, son of Alcimachus, and Philager, son of 
Cyneas, both of them distinguished citizens, betrayed the 
town to the Persians, who entering, not only pillaged and 
burned the temples, in retaliation for the temples burned 
at Sardis; but also, in obedience to the commands of 
Darius, made slaves of the people. Masters of Eretria, 
the Persians rested a few days, and then embarked for 
Attica ; thus pressing upon the Athenians, and not doubt- 
ing that they should deal with them as they had just dealt 
with the Eretrians. The plain of Marathon, on the 
coast of Attica, and not far from Eretria, was better 
adapted than any other part of the country for the move- 
ments of cavalry — it was here therefore that Hippias, son 
of Pisistratus, conducted the Persian army. 

On hearing of their arrival, the Athenians also repaired 
to Marathon. They were (as ivas customary) commanded 
by ten generals, the last in order being Miltiades, whose 
father Cimon, son of Stesagoras, had fled from Athens, 
when ruled by Pisistratus, son of Hippocrates. While in 
exile he had won the prize in the chariot race, in the 
Olympic games; but had transferred the honour to 
Miltiades, his son. In the next Olympiad, with the 
same mares he was again victor, but conceded to Pisis- 
tratus the right to be announced as such : by this means 
he entered into treaty with him, and returned to Athens. 
A third time, and with the same mares, he carried the 
prize in the Olympic games ; but was murdered by the 
sons of Pisistratus — who had died in the interval. They 
effected his death at night by the hands of assassins, 
secretly placed near the Prytaneum. Cimon was interred 
in front of the city, beyond the road through Coele, and 
opposite to his sepulchre is that of his mares, which three 
times obtained the Olympic prize. The mares of Eva- 
goras, of LacedaBmon, did the same, but none besides 
these. The eldest son of Cimon, named Stesagoras, was 

(103) 



ENCAMPED AT MARATHON. 453 

at that time with his uncle Miltiades, in the Chersonese, 
while the younger, named Miltiades — after the founder of 
the colony in the Chersonese, was with Cimon at Athens. / 

This same Miltiades, lately come from the Chersonese, 
and who had escaped a double death, was one of the 
Athenian generals. The first of these escapes was when 
the Phoenicians, who earnestly desired to take him 
prisoner, and to deliver him to the king, pursued him as 
far as Imbros. The second was when, on his return to 
Athens, where he expected to find safety, his enemies 
instantly arraigned him on the charge of seizing the 
tyranny of the Chersonese. But being acquitted, he was, 
by the choice of the people, appointed one of their 
generals. 

Before the generals left the city they despatched as 
herald to Sparta, Phidippides, an Athenian, and a daily 
courier by avocation. According to the account which 
this messenger gave to the Athenians, while he traversed 
mount Parthenius, above Tegea (the god) Pan en- 
countered him, and calling . him loudly by his name — 
Phidippides, commanded him to ask the Athenians why 
they paid him no respect — well disposed as he was to 
them, and having often, in times past, promoted their 
welfare, and intending to do so in time to. come. The 
Athenians giving credit to this message, consecrated a 
temple to Pan, beneath the Acropolis, when they found 
their affairs prosperously re-established, and on the faith 
of the message they have ever since propitiated his favour 
by annual sacrifices, and by torch-races. 

This Phidippides, despatched by the generals, and to 
whom, as he affirmed, Pan appeared, reached Sparta on 
the second day after he left Athens, and thus addressed 
the magistrates : — " Lacedaemonians, the Athenians en- 
treat you to afford them aid, nor to witness unconcerned 
the subjugation of one of the most ancient cities of Greece 
by Barbarians. Eretria is already reduced to slavery, 

(106) 2 g 3 



4£4 OMEN OF HIPPIAS. 

and Greece is weakened by the loss of that celebrated 
city." Thus he delivered his instructions, and the Lace- 
daemonians resolved to aid the Athenians : but it was 
impossible for them to do so immediately, for they would 
not violate the law — it being then only the ninth of the 
month, and on the ninth, or before the circle (of the 
moon) was filled up, they could not set out. They there- 
fore awaited the full moon. 

Meantime Hippias, son of Pisistratus, had conducted 
the Barbarians to Marathon. The night before, he had 
in his sleep seen a vision, in which he believed himself to 
hold intercourse with his mother, of such a kind as seemed 
to him to intimate that he should return to Athens — 
recover the power, and die an old man in his palace ; — 
such were the conjectures he formed from the vision. 
Then, as guide to the army, he first sent the Eretrian 
captives to an island of the Styreans, named JEgiMa, and 
in the next place he brought the ships ashore at Marathon 
as fast as they came up ; and disembarking the Barbarians, 
formed them on the ground. While occupied in these 
arrangements, it happened to him to sneeze and cough 
with greater violence than ordinary, and being already 
advanced in years, many of his teeth were shaken by the 
effort ; and one was actually thrown out by the force of 
the cough. It fell upon the sand, and he used great 
diligence in searching for it ; but no tooth could be seen. 
Then uttering a deep sigh, he said to the bye-standers, 
" This land is not ours — nor shall we be able to conquer 
it — my tooth occupies as much of it as shall ever come to 
my lot." Hippias concluded that the intention of the 
vision was now accomplished. 

When the Athenians had formed their order in a spot 
consecrated to Hercules, the Plataeans in full force 
arrived to support them. 

[These people had surrendered themselves to the direction of 

(108) 



THE PLATiEANS AND ATHENIANS. 455 

the Athenians, who had already undergone many toils on their 
account. The Plataeans, pressed upon by the Thebans, had at 
first claimed the protection of Cleomenes, son of Anaxan- 
drides, when in their neighbourhood with a body of Lacedae- 
monians. But the Spartans not accepting the proffered sub- 
mission, thus addressed them : — " We live at a distance from 
you, and the aid, we might afford you would be but of a chilly 
sort. Once and again it might happen that you would be 
reduced to servitude before any of us had even heard of the 
matter. We therefore counsel you to surrender yourselves to 
the Athenians — your near neighbours, and who are well able 
to defend you." Such was the advice given by the Lacedae- 
monians to the Plataeans — not so much in good will to them, 
as with the design of involving the Athenians in wars with 
the Boeotians. The Plataeans yielded to this advice, and 
while the Athenians were celebrating the festival of the 
twelve gods, repaired to Athens, and presenting themselves 
as suppliants at the altar, surrendered themselves to the com- 
monwealth. On hearing this the Thebans marched against 
Plataea. The Athenians failed not to afford their aid. But 
when the two armies were about to engage, the Corinthians, 
not indifferent to the quarrel, came up, and mediated a treaty 
of peace, and by the consent of both parties fixed the limits 
between them in such a manner, that those Boeotians who 
were unwilling to be included in the Boeotian commonwealth 
should not be annoyed by the Thebans. After making this 
arrangement the Corinthians retired, as did also the Athenians ; 
but were attacked on their march by the Boeotians : an engage- 
ment ensued in which the latter were vanquished. The Athe- 
nians then transgressing the boundaries that had been assigned 
by the Corinthians to the Plataeans, decided that the Asopus 
and Hysia should be the boundary between the Thebans and 
Plataeans. Such were the circumstances under which the 
Plataeans had surrendered themselves to the controul of the 
Athenians. And now they arrived to give their aid at 
Marathon.] 

The Athenian generals were divided in opinion, some 
(109) 2 g 4 



456 ADVICE OF MILTIADES. 

advising not to engage the enemy, alleging that the 
Greeks were too few to contend with the forces of the 
Medes; while the others, among whom was Miltiades, 
urged to give battle. Such was the difference, and 
Miltiades perceiving that the worse of the two opinions 
was likely to prevail, applied himself to the Polemarch, 
who was to give the eleventh and and casting vote. — The 
Polemarch is an officer elected by the suffrages of the 
Athenians, and by ancient custom his vote was of the 
same value as that of the generals. Callimachus, of 
Aphidna, was then Polemarch, and Miltiades, thus 
addressed him:— "Upon you, Callimachus, it now de- 
pends to decide" whether Athens shall be reduced to 
slavery or remain free,; and with you it is to leave to all 
future generations a fame surpassing that of Harmodius 
and Aristogiton. For now indeed the Athenians approach 
a greater danger than they have ever yet encountered. 
If they bow beneath the Medes let it be imagined what 
they will suffer when given up to Hippias. But if our 
commonwealth is preserved, it will become the first among 
the states of Greece. I will now explain the actual 
position of affairs, and how it is that so much depends 
upon your vote. We, the ten generals, are divided in 
opinion, some advising to give battle, others dissuading. 
And now, if we do not fight, I anticipate that factious 
differences beginning to operate, will shake the resolution 
of the Athenians, and dispose some to favour the Medes. 
But if we engage the enemy before any such unsoundness 
of purpose takes place among the Athenians, then, if the 
gods distribute their favours with an even hand, we are 
of force enough to fight the enemy, and to prevail. All 
this then awaits your decision, and on you it depends. 
Adopt my advice, and there remains to you your country 
free — and not only free, but first in rank among the states 
of Greece : but the opposite to all these benefits must be 
yours if you follow the opinion of those who would delay 

(109) 



490. 



ONSET AT MARATHON. 457 

to give battles." Callimachus was gained by this address, 
and giving his vote, it was decided that battle should be 
given. Then the generals, who had been of that opinion, 
severally as their turns came to be in command for the 
day, surrendered their right to Miltiades : he accepted 
the offer; but would not lead the army against the enemy, 
until his own day of command arrived. 

When that day came the Athenians took their station j». c 
in order of battle in the following manner. — Callimachus 
the Polemarch, commanded the right wing— for such was 
the rule with the Athenians. Then followed- the several 
tribes according to the series in which they were usually 
reckoned ; and closely adjoining each other. Last of ail, 
and forming the left wing, were ranged the Plataeans. 
Ever since this battle, when the Athenians celebrate the 
festival with its sacrifices which is observed once in five 
years, the herald prays " for the prosperity of the Athe- 
nians, together with the Platseans." The Athenian army 
was so arranged on the field of Marathon, that its front 
extended as far as that of the Medes ; its centre consist- 
ing of few ranks, was the weakest part of the line, while 
the two wings were strong and deep. 

Battle was thus ranged — the auspices were fair, and 
the Athenians, on signal given, ran upon the Barbarians — 
an interval of not less than eight stades,* having divided 
the two armies. The Persians seeing them at full speed, 
prepared to receive them ; but indeed viewed them as 
madmen, rushing upon destruction— few as they were, 
and destitute of cavalry and archers. Thus thought the 
Barbarians. But the Athenians in a compact body broke 
in upon the line of the Barbarians, and fought with a 
valour worthy of fame. Of all the Greeks these Athenians 
were the first, so far as we know, who advanced to the 
attack at full speed, and indeed the first that could stand 

* It seems probable that the lesser stade is here, intended. 
(112) 



458 DISCOMFITURE AND 

the sight of the Median costume, and the Median figure ; 
for at that time the very name of the Medes inspired the 
Greeks with terror. 

The contest in the field of Marathon was long maintain- 
ed. In the centre, occupied by the Persians themselves, 
and the Saces, the Barbarians were victorious, and 
breaking the line, pursued the Athenians to some distance 
from the coast. Meanwhile the Athenians and Platseans 
on the two wings vanquished their opponents, and leaving 
the Barbarians to retreat, drew towards each other, so as 
to close upon the Persians who had broken their centre. 
The Athenians engaging with these, prevailed ; the 
Barbarians fled ; — were followed, and cut down, till the 
pursuit reached the sea, where the victors laid hold of, and 
sought to fire the ships. 

In this contest perished Callimachus, after behaving 
like a brave man ; and among the slain was Stesilaus, son 
of Thrasylas, one of the ten generals; and Cynaegirus also, 
the son of Euphorion, having laid hold of a vessel by the 
stern, had his hands severed by an axe, and fell slain: 
many Athenians of rank were left dead on the field. 
Seven of the enemy's ships were captured by the Greeks, 
who followed the enemy to the sea. The Barbarians 
hauling their vessels from the beach, put to Sea, and after 
taking the Eretrian captives from the island where they 
had left them, doubled the promontory of Sunium, with 
the intention of preventing the Athenians, and gaining the 
city before them. The Alcmaeonids have been held 
guilty among the Athenians of having suggested to them 
this plan ; and it is said that, having made a previous 
arrangement with the Persians, they held up a shield as 
a signal, when the enemy had reached their ships. They 
then proceeded to double the headland of Sunium. 
Meanwhile the Athenians hastened with all speed to 
protect their city, and in fact they did prevent the coming 
of the Barbarians: it happened that their camp was 

(115) 



RETREAT OF THE PERSIANS. 459 

removed from one temple of Hercules — that at Marathon, 
to another at Cynosarges, which was the station where 
they posted themselves after their march. The Barbarians 
hove in sight off Phalerum, which was then the port of 
Athens, and after remaining at anchor there for a time, 
sailed away to Asia. 

About 6,400 of the Barbarians fell in the battle of 
Marathon ; and of the Athenians, one hundred and ninety- 
two : — such were the respective numbers of the slain. 
During the action an extraordinary circumstance occurred 
— an Athenian named Epizelus, the son of Cuphagoras, 
while strenuously fighting in his place, lost his sight with- 
out having received any sort of wound or blow ; and he 
continued blind during the remainder of his life. He 
was accustomed to give the following account of the 
manner in which this calamity befel him ; — he thought he 
beheld, standing before him, a man of great stature and 
completely armed, and whose beard flowed entirely over 
his shield ; and that the spectre passing him, killed the 
man who stood next to him. Such is the account, as I am 
informed, which Epizelus was wont to give. 

Datis returned with the fleet to Asia : on his way he 
touched at Mycone, where he saw a vision in sleep, the 
nature of which is not recorded; but as soon as day 
appeared, he caused a search to be made through all the 
ships, and finding in a Phoenician vessel a gilded statue 
of Apollo, he inquired from whence it had been stolen, 
and having learned to what temple it belonged, he sailed 
in his own ship to Delos: the Delians had by this time 
returned to their island. Datis on arriving, placed the 
statue in the temple, and enjoined the Delians to convey 
it to Delium of the Thebans, a place on the coast opposite 
to Chalcis : leaving these commands, he departed ; but 
the Delians retained the statue, which twenty years after- 
wards the Thebans themselves, on the admonition of an 
oracle, brought home to Delium. 
(U8) 



4G0 THE ERETR1AN CAPTIVES. 

The Eretrian captives were conducted by Datis and 
Artaphernes, after their landing in Asia, to Susa. 
Darius the king had felt a deep resentment against these 
people before they were reduced to slavery; for they 
were the first authors of the wrongs that had been com- 
mitted. But when he beheld them brought before him, 
and entirely in his power, he inflicted no punishment upon 
them ; but allotted them a tract to inhabit on his own 
estate at Ardericca, in Cissia. This spot is two hundred 
and ten furlongs distant from Susa, and not more than 
forty from the spring which yields three different sub- 
stances ; for there is drawn from it, asphaltum, (mineral 
pitch) and salt, and oil, in the following manner : — they 
let down a rope by a pulley, to which is attached, instead 
of a pail (or bucket) the half of a leathern wine bottle : 
this being lowered is drawn up, and the contents emptied 
into a receiver, whence the whole runs into another, where 
it assumes three forms ; — the asphaltum and the salt 
presently congeal, while the oil is collected in vessels and 
is called by the Persians rhadinace : this oil is black, and 
emits a strong odour. In this neighbourhood it was that 
king Darius settled the Eretrians, who in my own time 
continued to dwell there, and have preserved their ancient 
language. 

After the full moon the Laced asmonians, two thousand 
strong, arrived at Athens. Their march was so rapid that 
they reached Attica on the third day after leaving Sparta. 
Though too late to take part in the battle, they strongly 
desired to see the Medes, and proceeded to Mara- 
thon to view them (the slain). Then, after applauding 
the Athenians and their achievement, they returned 
home. 

The report concerning the conduct of the Alcmseonids 
is in my opinion too strange to be credited, as if they had, 
by agreement with the Persians, held up a shield as a 
signal, wishing to bring the Athenians under the power of 

(121) 



THE ALCMiEONIDS. 461 

the Barbarians and of Hippias. The Alcmaeonids evidently 
felt a greater, or at least as great a hatred towards the 
tyrants, as did Callias, son of Phosnippus, and father of 
Hipponicus : for this Callias was the only Athenian who 
was bold enough, when Pisistratus was driven from 
Athens, and his effects were put up to sale by the vote 
of the people, to purchase them. In many other ways 
also he displayed his determined animosity. 



SECTION XI. 



THE ALCM^ONIDS. 



* [ [This Callias is worthy of being had in universal ad- 
miration, not only — as appears from what I have mentioned 
above — on account of his ardent desire for the liberty of his 
country ; but because of his successes in the Olympic games, 
where he was victor in the horse-race, and second in the 
chariot-race. And moreover, after distinguishing himself in 
the Pythian games he surpassed all the Greeks in magnifi- 
cence. His conduct towards his three daughters deserves also 
to be mentioned ; for when they were of marriageable years, 
he not only bestowed upon each a handsome portion, but 
allowed them to choose among all the Athenians whom they 
preferred for their husbands, and espoused them to the men 
of their choice.] } 

Yet the Alcmaeonids did not hate the tyrants at all less 
than Callias. To me therefore the accusation seems incredible, 
and not to be admitted, which charges them with having 
displayed the shield: — they who abandoned their country 

* This paragraph is believed, on some probable grounds, to be an 
interpolation. 

(123) 



462 THE ALCMAEONIDS. 

all the time of the tyranny, and they by whose exertions 
the Pisistratids were deprived of power, and who, in so doing, 
are, in my judgment, rather to be esteemed the liberators of 
Athens, than even Harmodius and Aristogiton ; for these, in 
killing Hipparchus, only exasperated the other tyrants so 
much the more, and were far from putting an end to their 
oppressive rule. But the Alcmaeonids incontestably liberated 
then- country — if indeed the story I have already related be 
true, that it was they who prevailed upon the Pythian to 
enjoin the Lacedaemonians to deliver Athens. But will it be 
said that they endeavoured to betray their country on account 
of some discontent given them by the Athenian commonality ? 
But there were none more esteemed or more honoured by the 
Athenians. We cannot then believe that from any such motive 
they might be induced to display the shield. Yet a shield 
was displayed ; nor must the fact be denied ; but who it was 
that held it, I am unable to say, further than I have already 
stated. 

From the earliest times the Alcmaeonids have been illustrious 
at Athens. Especially Alcmaeon himself, and Megacles his 
successor, rendered the family conspicuous. Alcmaeon, son of 
Megacles, acted as coadjutor to the Lydian sent by Croesus 
to consult the Delphic oracle, and he aided them with great 
assiduity. On the return of these messengers, Croesus, being 
informed by them of the kind treatment they had received 
from him, sent for him to Sardis ; and when he arrived pre- 
sented him with as much gold as he was able to carry on his 
person at once. Alcmaeon prepared himself for the obtaining 
of such a gift in the following manner. He put on an ample 
cloak, in which a deep recess (on the breast) was left ; and he 
wore the widest boots he could find : thus attired he approached 
the treasury to which he was conducted, and fell to, upon a 
heap of pieces;— first he stuffed around his legs as many gold 
pieces as his boots would hold; then he loaded his bosom 
absolutely full of gold, and even stuck the pieces into his 
curls, and filled his mouth also with gold. Thus he left the 
treasury — with difficulty dragging his boots, and looking like 
any thing rather than a man — his mouth puffed out, and his 

(125) 



CLISTHENES OF SICYON. 463 

whole body swollen. Croesus on seeing him, burst into 
laughter. Besides presenting him with this gold, he bestowed 
other gifts not inferior in value. By this means the family 
became opulent, and he, training horses for the race, won 
prizes in the Olympic games. 

In the second generation from Alcmseon, the family was 
elevated to a higher celebrity in Greece than ever by Clis- 
thenes, tyrant of Sicyon. Clisthenes, son of Aristonymus, 
son of Myron, son of Andreas, had a daughter named 
Agariste, whom he resolved to marry to the most accom- 
plished man he could find in Greece. At the Olympic games, 
in which Clisthenes obtained the prize in the chariot-race, he 
made proclamation to this effect : — " Whoever deems himself 
to be worthy of becoming the son-in-law of Clisthenes, let him 
come to Sicyon, on or before the sixtieth day from this time : 
for he has fixed the nuptials of his daughter to take place on 
the anniversary of that sixtieth day." Forthwith as many 
Greeks as, by their possessions or ancestry, could make the 
pretension, repaired thither as suitors; and Clisthenes pre- 
pared for their exercises a race course, and a palaestra. From 
Italy there came Smyndyrides, son of Hippocrates, a Sybarite, 
who carried luxury to its utmost excess — and Sybaris was at 
that time in its height of prosperity, And from Siris came 
Damasus, son of Amyris, called the sage, these came from 
Italy. From the Ionian Gulph — Amphimnestris, son of 
Epistrophus, of Epidamnus. From JEtolia, Titormus, who 
surpassed the Greeks in strength, and who retired from the 
society of men to the extreme parts of iEtolia ; he was brother 
to Males. From Peloponnesus came Leocedes, son of Phidon, 
tyrant of Argos, (whose ancestor) Phidon introduced the use 
of measures among the Peloponnesians, and displayed un- 
common arrogance in expelling from their office the Elean 
presidents of the Olympic games, (p. 175,) and himself 
regulated the contests. Also Amiantus, son of Lycurgus, 
from Trapezunte in Arcadia; and Laphanes from Paeus, of 
Azania, son of Euphorion, who, as the story is told in Arcadia, 
received to his house the Dioscures (Castor and Pollux) and 
(127) 



4G4 CLISTHENES OF SICYON. 

from that time kept open house for strangers of all sorts.—* 
And Onomastus, son of Agaeus, an Elean. — These came 
from Peloponnesus. From Athens came Megacles, son of 
Alcmjeon, the same that visited Croesus, and also Hippoclides, 
son of Tisander — eminent among the Athenians both for 
wealth and beauty of person. From Eretria — at that time in 
its most flourishing state, came Lusanias— the only man from 
Eubcea. From Thessaly, Diactorides, a Cranonian of the 
family of the Scopades, and from the Molossians, Alcon. 
These were the suitors. 

Arriving on the day appointed, Clisthenes first inquired 
the country and extraction of each : then reserving the decision 
to the end of the year, he meantime made trial of their valour, 
and spirit, and learning, and manners, by having familiar 
intercourse with each and with all, and by exercising the 
younger of them in athletic games, and especially by conver- 
sation at table. During the whole time in which he retained 
them, he continued the same course of proceedings, and mean- 
while entertained them sumptuously. 

Of all the suitors, those from Athens most pleased him ; 
and of these chiefly Hippoclides, son of Tisander, both on 
account of his personal merits, and because of the affinity of 
his ancestors to the Cypselides of Corinth. When the day 
appointed arrived for celebrating the marriage, and on which 
Clisthenes was to decide among the suitors, he killed a hun- 
dred oxen, and regaled, not only them, but all the people of 
Sicyon. After the feast, the suitors contended in a musical 
performance, and in discussing themes proposed to them. 
When wine had circulated freely, Hippoclides, who engrossed 
the attention of the company, commanded the piper to play 
a merry air, which he did, while Hippoclides danced to the 
time — much to his own satisfaction; but Clisthenes beheld 
the performance with disgust. Then, after resting himself a 
while, he commanded a table to be brought in, upon which he 
mounted, and executed, first the Laconic figure, {dance) and 
then the Attic. In the next place, pitching his head on the 
table, he performed with the legs the gestures proper to the 

(129) 



CLISTHENES. 465 

arms.* The first and the second dance had made Clisthenes 
revolt from the idea of making Hippoclides his son-in-law : 
yet, though offended by the indecorum of the performance, he 
restrained himself, not being- willing to express aloud his 
feelings. But when he beheld him gesticulating with his legs 
— no longer able to refrain, he exclaimed — " Son of Tisander, 
you have danced away the sonship" (the pretension to marry 
his daughter). To which the other only replied — " No matter 
to Hippoclides." The answer became a bye- word. 

Clisthenes then having commanded silence, thus addressed 
the assembly: — " Gentlemen — the suitors of my daughter! 
I applaud you all, and, were that possible, I would gladly 
avoid distinguishing one above the others, or reject any. But 
since the contention has been for one lady, it is imprac- 
ticable to gratify the ambition of all. To each one of you 
therefore, whose pretensions must be rejected, I give a talent 
of silver, as an expression of the sense I entertain of the 
honour you do me in wishing to marry my daughter, and also 
to defray the expences of your journey hither. And I bestow 
my daughter Agarista in marriage, according to the usages of 
Athens, upon Megacles, son of Alcmaeon." Megacles pro- 
fessed his acceptance of the offer, and the nuptials were 
celebrated by Clisthenes. Thus it was that the choice among 
the suitors was decided, and thus that the Alcmaeonids became 
celebrated throughout Greece. The offspring of this marriage 
was named Clisthenes, after his maternal grandfather of 
Sicyon, and it was he who distributed the Athenians into 
{ten) tribes, and established the power of the people. Me- 
gacles had another son, named Hippocrates, whose son was 
named Megacles, and his daughter Agarista, after the daughter 
of Clisthenes. She married Xantippus, son of Ariphron, and 
dreamed that she should bring forth a lion : soon afterwards 
she gave birth to Pericles.] 

* Tumbling performances of this kind are represented on many Greek 
works of art : the performers are generally women. 



(131) 2 h 



466 



SECTION XII. 

EXPLOITS AND DEATH OF MILTIADES. 

After the defeat of the Persians at Marathon, Miltiades, 
who had before possessed a high reputation at Athens, 
found his fame greatly augmented. On the strength of 
this increased credit he asked of the Athenians seventy 
ships, with men and money, without making known what 
place was the object of the expedition ; but only saying 
that he would greatly enrich them if they would follow 
him, leading them to a land whence they might with ease 
obtain an unlimited quantity of gold. Elated with these 
hopes, the Athenians granted the ships. Assuming the 
command of the armament, Miltiades sailed to Paros, 
using as a pretext the allegation that the Parians had 
began hostilities by sending a trireme with the Persian to 
Marathon. Such was his pretext ; but in fact he was 
moved by hatred against the Parians, on account of 
Lysagoras, son of Tisias, a Parian, who had calumniated 
him to Hydarnes the Persian. Arriving with the fleet off 
the island, Miltiades besieged the Parians within their 
walls, and sending a herald, demanded a hundred talents, 
saying that unless they gave him that sum, he would not 
withdraw the army until he had taken the city. But the 
Parians, instead of entertaining the proposition of Milti- 
ades, thought only of every means to strengthen their 
defences. Among other measures adopted by them, they, 
by working at night, raised the walls double their former 
height in all those places where the town was most open 
to attack. 

So far we follow the account in which all the Greeks 
concur ; but for the rest we depend on the Parians alone. 
(134) 



SIEGE OF PAROS. 4()7 

While Miltiades was yet doubtful of the issue of the siege, 
a Parian woman named Timo, who was his captive, con- 
ferred with him ;— she was priestess of the infernal gods. 
This woman advised Miltiades, if indeed he was intent 
upon taking Paros, to follow her instructions, which he 
listened to, and in consequence he repaired to the hill in 
front of the city, whence he leaped the fence of the temple 
of Ceres Thesmophora ; for he could not open the door. 
Having surmounted the partition, he proceeded towards 
the temple — with what intention — whether to move those 
things which were not to be moved, or to effect any other 
object, is not known ; but when he reached the gates, 
suddenly a horror seized him, and he returned the way 
he came, but in vaulting over the fence, he dislocated 
his thigh ; or, as others say, wounded his knee. 

After this disaster, Miltiades withdrew the fleet, with- 
out either obtaining money for the Athenians, or getting 
possession of Paros. The siege lasted six and twenty 
days, in which time the open country of the island was 
ravaged. The Parians being informed that the priestess 
Timo had given instructions to Miltiades, wished to inflict 
punishment upon her, and as soon as the siege was raised, 
sent messengers to Delphi to inquire if they should not 
condemn to death the priestess of the infernal gods, who 
had acted as guide to the enemy in his attempt against her 
country, and had exposed to Miltiades those sacred 
mysteries which no man should behold. But the Pythian 
suffered them not to do so, saying, " that it was not of 
Timo that these things had happened; but Miltiades, 
being fated to end his days disastrously, she had only led 
him to his own calamities." 

On his return from Paros, Miltiades was loudly com- 
plained of by the Athenians, especially by Xantippus, son 
of Ariphron, who accused him capitally before the people, 
of having deceived the Athenians. Miltiades was unable to 
answer for himself; for his thigh had become gangrenous; 
(136) 2 h 2 



468 DEATH OF MILT-JADES. 

but he was brought on a couch into court, where his 
cause was pleaded by his friends, who largely dwelt upon 
his merits in the battle of Marathon, and mentioned also 
the capture of Lemnos, which he had given up to the 
Athenians, after wreaking vengeance on the Pelasgians. 
The people were so far won over as to acquit him of the 
capital part of the charge ; but they adjudged him to pay 
a fine of fifty talents for the injury he had done to 
the state. Presently after the passing of this sentence, 
a mortification of the thigh took place, and Miltiades ex- 
pired. The fifty talents were paid by his son Cimon. 

[Miltiades had possessed himself of Lemnos in the following- 
manner.' — Whether justly or not I shall not decide — the 
Athenians had expelled the Pelasgians from Attica — I only 
report what I have heard. Hecataeus, son of Hegesander, 
does indeed afiirm, in his history, that the expulsion was unjust, 
for, says he, the Athenians seeing that the lands under Mount 
Hymettus, which they had given to the Pelasgians as their hire 
for building the wall around the Acropolis was well cultivated, 
though heretofore the district had been sterile and of no value, 
envied them the possession of it, and actually drove away the 
Pelasgians, without even assigning any other reason for so 
doing, except their strong desire to regain possession. But on 
the other hand the Athenians say — that they drove them 
away not without just cause ; for the Pelasgians, while living 
at the foot of Mount Hymettus, were wont to make incursions 
on the lands of the Athenians, and to injure the young women 
and children of the Athenians, who went to draw water at the 
well called Enneacrunos {nine springs), for at that time there 
were no slaves at Athens, nor indeed in other cities of Greece. 
As often as these young women came to the fountain, the 
Pelasgians treated them with the utmost insolence and con- 
tempt. Nor was this enough ; but in the end they were de- 
tected in an attempt against the city. On this occasion the 
Athenians exhibited their eminent moderation, for when they 
had right to put the Pelasgians to death, who had been con- 

(137) 



THE PELASGIANS OF LEMNOS. 469 

victed of treason, they would not do so; but only required 
them to quit the country. Thus driven from their lands, the 
Pelasgians betook themselves to different places, and some 
settled in Lemnos. The first account is that of Hecataeus, 
the last that of the Athenians. 

These Pelasgians who settled in Lemnos desired to avenge 
themselves on the Athenians, and being well informed of the 
times of the Athenian festivals, they equipped some fifty- 
oared gallies, and forming an ambuscade at Brauron, seized 
and carried off a number of Athenian women, who were 
celebrating the feast of Diana at that place : with these they 
sailed away to Lemnos where they detained them. The 
children of these women were taught by their mothers the 
language of Attica, and the manners of the Athenians, and 
they refused to hold any intercourse with the Pelasgian chil- 
dren, and if ever any one of them received a blow from the 
Pelasgian children, they would all run together to avenge the 
affront, and actually affected to rule the others as if they were 
their slaves. The Pelasgians perceiving it, considered the matter 
seriously, and said one to another — " If now these boys sup- 
port each other against the children of our true wives, and 
even now attempt to domineer over them, what will they do 
when they become men ?" Forthwith they resolved to put 
to- death all the sons of the women brought from Attica, and 
actually effected their purpose, destroying with them the 
mothers also. Prom this deed, and from one perpetrated 
at an earlier period, when the women (of Lemnos) killed all 
their husbands, together with Thoas (the king) — has arisen the 
usage throughout Greece of denominating any atrocious deed 
— " a Lemnian act." 

But after the Pelasgians had in this manner destroyed their 
own sons, and the women, neither did their lands yield har- 
vests, nor their wives bear children, nor their herds produce 
young, as heretofore. Urged by want and bereavement, they 
sent to Delphi to ask some release from their impending woes. 
But the Pythian commanded them to pay as a forfeit to the 
Athenians whatever that people should think fit to demand. 
The Pelasgians came therefore to Athens, and professed their 
(139) 2 h 3 



470 LEMNOS ACQUIRED BY MILTIADES. 

willingness to make full satisfaction for the wrong they had 
done. The Athenians dressing a couch in the prytaneum very 
magnificently, and also spreading a table with good things 
of all kinds, commanded the Pelasgians to surrender their 
island to them in like condition. The Pelasgians in reply 
said : — " When the north wind shall in one day bring a vessel 
from you to us, then we will surrender our island to you." 
This they said well knowing the thing to be impossible ; for 
Attica bears south from Lemnos, and at a considerable dis- 
tance. 

This was all that then took place. But very many years 
afterwards, when the Chersonese of the Hellespont came 
under the domination of the Athenians, Miltiades, son of 
Cimon, was carried by the etesian wind (summer north wind) 
from Elaeus in the Chersonese to Lemnos; and commanded 
the Pelasgians to quit the island, reminding them of the pre- 
diction which they had imagined could never be accomplished. 
The citizens of Hephaestia obeyed ; but those of Myrina, not 
acknowledging the Chersonese to be Attica, were besieged, 
and at length compelled to yield. Thus it was that the Athe- 
nians, by the agency of Miltiades, became possessed of 
Lemnos.] 



(140) 



BOOK VII. 



P O L Y M N I A. 



B.C. 



SECTION I. 

NEW PREPARATIONS TO INVADE GREECE -XERXES 
SUCCEEDS DARIUS. 

When the news of the battle of Marathon reached 
king Darius, son of Hystaspes, the strong resentment he 489 
had before entertained against the Athenians, on account 
of their attack upon Sardis, was greatly increased ; and 
now, more than ever, he desired to prosecute the war 
upon Greece. Presently after the arrival of the intelli- 
gence, he despatched messengers to every city, demanding 
levies of men, which were required to be much larger 
than before : ships also, and horses, and grain, and trans- 
ports, were to be furnished. During three years all Asia 
was kept 4 n agitation by the circulation of these orders ; 
the bravest men being every where enrolled to serve in 
the expedition against Greece. But while these prepara- 
tions were making, and in the fourth year, the Egyptians, 
who had been subjugated by Cambyses, revolted from the 
Persian domination. Whereupon a quickened movement 
took place, to attack both {Egyptians and Greeks). 

Just as Darius was about to proceed against Egypt and 
Athens, a great contention arose among his sons for the 
(2) 2 h 4 



472 CONTENTION FOR THE PERSIAN THRONE. 

right of succession to the throne : for by the Persian law 
the king could not set out on a military expedition until 
he had named his successor. Before he came to the 
kingdom, Darius had three sons by his first wife, the 
daughter of Gobryas ; and after his ascending the throne, 
four, by Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus. Of the first 
three, the eldest was Artabazanes, and of the after four 
— Xerxes ; and these not being sons of the same mother, 
contended for the right of succession. Artabazanes, 
on his part, alleged that he being the eldest of all his 
father's sons, his claim rested on the universal usage of 
mankind, which gave the right of succession to the eldest 
son. On the other hand Xerxes founded his pretension 
on his being the son of Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus — 
the prince who had obtained emancipation for the Per- 
sians. 

Darius had not yet declared his opinion, when it hap- 
pened that Demaratus, son of Ariston, having been 
deprived of the kingly office, and obliged to retire from 
Lacedaemon, arrived at Susa. This personage being in- 
formed of the dissension among the sons of Darius, joined 
himself — as it is commonly affirmed, with Xerxes, and 
advised him, in addition to the plea already advanced, to 
use the following argument. He (Xerxes) was born to 
Darius after he had become king, and actually held the 
Persian sceptre. Whereas, when Artabazanes was born, 
Darius was only a private person. It could not therefore 
be deemed either reasonable or just for any one to possess 
the sovereign dignity before himself (the son of the king). 
" And thus," continued Demaratus, " at Sparta, the law 
obtains, that, though a king may have sons born before 
his accession, the son born after the father becomes king 
actually succeeds him on the throne." Xerxes availed 
himself of the advice of Demaratus, and Darius acknow- 
ledging the justness of the argument, declared him to be 
heir to the throne. Tome it seems that Xerxes wou',d 

(3) 



ACCESSION OF XERXES. 473 

have obtained the kingdom even without the advice of 
the Spartan; for Atossa possessed unbounded influence 
at court. 

Darius having appointed Xerxes as his successor in the 
Persian throne, hastened his departure on the intended 
expedition. But as he was about to do so, when all 
preparations were completed, and in the second year of 
the Egyptian revolt, Darius died, after a reign of thirty- B. C. 
six years, and before he could avenge himself either 
on the rebellious Egyptians, or upon the Athenians. 
On his death the royal authority descended to his son 
Xerxes. 

At the commencement of his reign, Xerxes was far 
from being inclined to prosecute the war against Greece, 
and the forces he assembled were designed to reduce 
Egypt. But Mardonius, son of Gobryas, who was 
cousin to Xerxes, being son of the sister of Darius, was 
near the king, and beyond any other Persian possessed 
influence over him. And in such terms as the following 
it was that he addressed Xerxes : — " My lord, it ought 
not to be that the Athenians, who have already wrought 
so much mischief to the Persians, should be suffered to 
have done so with impunity. Finish then what you have 
now in hand ; and after quelling the insolence of Egypt, 
set out for Athens. So shall you obtain the applauses of 
mankind ; nor shall a hostile force ever in future dare 
to set foot within your dominions." In addition to these 
motives of vengeance, he went on to say, that — " Europe 
was an exceedingly fair land, producing all kinds of fruit- 
bearing trees ; — in a word, altogether excellent, and a fit 
possession for none but the king." 

In urging this advice, .Mardonius was impelled by the 
desire to be employed in new enterprizes ; he wished also 
to obtain Greece as his government. At length he suc- 
ceeded in persuading Xerxes to give effect to his pro- 
posal, and other events concurred to produce the same 
(6) 



474 DETERMINATION TO INVADE GREECE. 

determination. For in the first place there arrived from 
Thessaly messengers sent by the Aleuads, calling upon 
the king with zealous importunity to invade Greece. 
Now these Aleuads were Thessalian kings (chiefs). 
Moreover the Pisistratids, who had come to Susa, inces- 
santly held the same language as the Aleuads, and they 
prevailed with the king even more, by having in their 
interests Onomacritus, an Athenian diviner, who inter- 
preted the oracles of Musaeus : in coming to Susa they 
had reconciled themselves with him ; for Onomacritus 
had been banished from Athens by Hipparchus, son of 
Pisistratus, on occasion of his having been detected 
by Lasus, of Hermione, in interpolating among the 
oracles of Musaeus, one which predicted that the islands 
around Lemnos should disappear in the sea. On this 
account it was that Hipparchus, who before had been on 
very good terms with him, banished the diviner. But at 
the time of which we are speaking, Onomacritus, having 
joined himself with the Pisistratids, they had said much 
of him to the king ; and he, whenever introduced into the 
royal presence, recited some of these oracles. Such of 
them as predicted any calamity to the Barbarian he did 
not repeat ; but selected only those verses which spoke of 
successes. Among them was one declaring that " a 
Persian was destined to yoke the Hellespont with a 
bridge :" this he referred to the expedition against Greece. 
Such were the predictions produced by the diviner, 
and such the arguments used by the Pisistratids and the 
Aleuads. 

Xerxes having consented to invade Greece, first pro- 
ceeded to quell the insurgents. This took place in *the 
B.C. second year after the death of Darius. Having defeated 
them, he reduced Egypt to a state of servitude more 
severe than that in which it had been held by Darius ; 
and appointed as governor Achaemenes his brother, and 
son of the late king. This Achaemenes some time after- 

(7) 



484. 



SPEECH OF XERXES. 475 

wards, and while prefect of Egypt, was slain by Inarus, 
son of Psammitichus, a Libyan. 

After the reduction of Egypt, Xerxes, before he led 
his forces against Athens, convoked an assembly of the 
principal Persians, both to learn their opinions, and to 
make known his purpose to all of them. Xerxes thus 
addressed the assembly : — " Persians, I introduce nothing 
new among you ; but only follow the practices received 
from our ancestors: for, as I learn from the ancients, 
never since we obtained the sovereign power from the 
Medes, when Cyrus deposed Astyages, have we been 
inactive. But the divinity — so leading the way — we have 
followed in the course of continued successes. You well 
know, nor need I recount the exploits of Cyrus, and of 
Cambyses, and of my father, Darius ; or tell what they 
achieved, and what nations they added to our empire. 
For myself, ever since I ascended the throne, it has been 
my study not to be inferior to my precursors in the glory 
of conquest, nor less than they, to extend the boundaries 
of the Persian domination. And on mature deliberation 
I find that we may at once win for ourselves an increase 
of glory, and obtain possession of a country not inferior 
to that we now inhabit — a country by no means despicable, 
and indeed eminently fertile ; while at the same time we 
execute vengeance on our enemies. I have therefore 
convoked you that I may impart to you my intentions. 
I propose, after joining the Hellespont, to lead an army 
on the European side into Greece, that I may punish the 
Athenians for the injuries inflicted by them upon the 
Persians, and upon my father. You know that when 
Darius was setting out to invade these people, he died, 
and so failed to avenge himself. But I, on behalf of him, 
and of the Persians at large, will not desist from my 
endeavours till I have captured and burned Athens ; for 
the Athenians have been the authors of wrong against 
both me and my father ; — first, when with Aristagoras of 
(8) 



476 SPEECH OF XERXES 

Miletus, our slave, they advanced upon Sardis, and burned 
the sacred groves and the temples : and then, what they 
did when our army under Datis and Artaphernes invaded 
them, you all perfectly well know. On these grounds 
therefore I am resolved to make war upon them. But 
besides these reasons, I find that signal advantages offer 
themselves also to us, for if we vanquish these people 
and their immediate neighbours — the inhabitants of the 
country of Pelops the Phrygian — the Persian empire will 
be limited only by Jove and the heavens ; nor will the 
sun behold any land that shall form our boundary. With 
you traversing the whole of Europe, I will form, of all 
countries, a single empire. I am informed, that if the 
people I have mentioned are subdued, there is not a 
city nor a nation remaining, at all capable of contending 
with us in the field. And thus, with rightful cause, or 
with none, all shall alike receive the yoke of bondage. 
It remains then for you in executing my purposes to merit 
my favour. At the time which I shall fix, use, all of 
you, your greatest diligence to be in readiness. Upon 
him who shall come attended by the best appointed troops, 
I will bestow such gifts as are most highly valued among 
us. This then is to be done. Yet lest I should seem to 
you to act on my own advice only, I now propose the 
matter to you, giving leave to any one who wishes to do 
so, to make known his opinion." 

Mardonius next spoke as follows — >" My Lord ! — the 
best, not only of all the Persian kings that have yet 
lived, but the best that shall ever reign ! Well and truly 
have you spoken on all points, especially in declaring that 
you will not suffer the Ionians of Europe — contemptible 
as they are, to mock us. Of most ill consequence would 
it be, if after reducing to servitude the Saces, and the 
Indians, and the Ethiopians, and the Assyrians, and other 
great and powerful nations, who had done us no injury, 
and whom we subdued only to enlarge our empire — we 

(9) 



AND OF MARDONIUS. 477 

should fail to punish the Greeks, who have commenced 
hostilities against us ! And what have we to fear ? what 
confluence of numbers 1 what resources of wealth ? We 
know their manner of fighting ; we know their strength — 
that it is very feebleness. We hold already in subjection 
their descendants, who occupy our continent — I mean the 
Ionians, and the iEolians, and the Dorians. I myself, 
under the orders of your father, have made trial of these 
men in the field, and when I invaded Greece, and led 
our armies as far as Macedonia, and almost reached 
Athens itself, none of them opposed my progress. So 
great, as I am informed, is the fool-hardiness and stu- 
pidity of the Greeks, that they prosecute wars in the 
most heedless manner. For when two nations among 
them have declared hostilities, they seek out the most 
open and level spot they can find, where they fight ; so 
that even the victors do not fail to sustain great loss. 
And as to the vanquished — if they are not utterly de- 
stroyed, I know not what to say of them. But, speaking 
as they do all one language, they ought to adjust their 
differences by heralds and ambassadors, and by any means 
rather than by the sword. But if they must fight, why 
not search for positions the least accessible that their 
country affords, and there try their quarrels 1 It was 
from the want of some such advantageous mode of war- 
fare that, when I advanced as far as Macedonia, the 
Greeks never met me in the field. But as you, O king, 
will lead with you the entire force of Asia, both by land 
and sea, shall any dare to oppose you in arms ? Truly 
I think not — I do not believe the presumption of the 
Greeks has reached that height. And yet, should I 
be mistaken, and should they in unadvised temerity meet 
us in the field, it will be for them then to learn that we 
are of all men the most valiant and the most skilled in 
war. I say then let the issue be tried. Human affairs 
move not of themselves — success loves to wait upon 
(9) 



478 SPEECH OF 

endeavours." Having thus smoothed the way for the 
adoption of the king's opinion, Mardonius ceased. 

For some time, all the Persian princes kept silence ; 
no one venturing to declare an opinion opposite to the 
one before them. At length Artabanus, son of Hys- 
taspes, and brother of the late king, confiding in the 
respect to which he was on this ground entitled, thus 
spoke — " Sire ! unless opposing opinions are advanced, 
no choice can be exercised — the one proposed must needs 
be adopted. But if different opinions are stated, the 
better may be taken. Thus the find gold is not to be 
discerned by itself; but we rub (or compare) the one 
piece against the other, and so recognize the better. I 
warned your father, and my brother Darius, not to invade 
the Scythians — a people not inhabiting towns ; but he, 
confident that he should subdue the nomadic tribes, 
would not listen to my advice, and ere he returned from 
that enterprize, lost a large number of his bravest troops. 
But you, O king, are about to attack a people much 
superior to the Scythians, who are reputed to excel in 
war, both by sea and land. It is then my duty to set 
before you the hazard you are incurring. You say that 
after joining the Hellespont, you intend to lead your 
forces through Europe to Greece. But it may happen 
to you to be defeated, either by land or by sea ; or per- 
haps by both ; for these people are said to be of high 
courage. And indeed of this we have convincing proof, 
for the Athenians alone destroyed that vast army which, 
under Dates and Artaphernes, invaded Attica. But let 
us suppose that they are not successful both by land and 
sea; but only that they engage and defeat our fleet, 
and then, sailing to the Hellespont, dissolve the bridge. — 
That, sire, would be no small calamity ! Nor do I, in 
making such a supposition, reason prudentially upon mere 
probabilities, but found my calculations upon what had 
very nearly happened to us, when your father, throwing 

(10) 



ARTABANUS, 479 

bridges over the Thracian Bosphorus, and over the Ister 
passed into Scythia. At that time, no means were left 
untried by the Scythians which might induce the Ionians, 
who were left in charge of the bridge over the Ister, to 
break up the passage ; and if then Histiaeus, tyrant of 
Miletus, had not opposed the will of the other tyrants, 
the Persians would have been utterly ruined. Truly it 
is a fearful thing to hear it said, that the whole fate of 
the empire actually depended upon the fidelity of an 
individual. 

" Do not then, where no necessity exists, incur a like 
peril. Yield to my advice. — Dismiss this assembly, and 
once again — when it shall seem to you proper — deliberate 
with yourself; and then command what you shall think 
best. Nothing in my judgment is so advantageous as to 
act upon mature deliberation. And then, having pru- 
dently concerted our measures, even if the result does not 
correspond to our wishes, it is chance that has defeated 
wisdom. But when a man's designs are ill concerted, 
even if fortune favours him, though he has gained his 
object, it is nevertheless only the success of folly. See 
you that God hurls his bolt at the more lofty creatures, 
nor endures their self-display ; while the smaller chafe 
him not ? See you that the tallest mansions always, and 
the tallest trees are scathed by the shafts of heaven? 
For God delights to cut short whatever is proudly emi- 
nent, and thus often a mighty host is destroyed by a 
few. If God is jealous toward them, he casts his terrors 
on them, or his thunders roar, and thus, forfeiting their 
fame, they perish. For God will suffer none but himself 
to be highly exalted. Affairs that are hurried, fail not to 
produce mischances, whence extensive damage will arise. 
But what is done with cautious delays, contains in it 
success, which, though not at once apparent, will in 
time be seen. Such then, O king, are my counsels. 

"As to you Mardonius, son of Gobryas, cease to utter 
(10) 



480 SPEECH OF ARTABANUS. 

empty calumnies against the Greeks, who merit not to be 
thus spoken of. In railing at the Greeks, you aim to 
excite the king to lead the army against them : for this 
seems to be the tendency of all your eager endeavours. 
But may it not so be ! Slander is indeed a dire evil, 
wherein two unite to injure one. He who utters slander, 
wrongs another, for he accuses one who is absent ; and 
he who hears it, wrongs him by assenting to a statement 
without full information : the absent man receives then a 
double injury, for he is calumniated by one, and ill 
thought of by the other. 

" But if at any hazard these Greeks must be attacked, 
let the king remain at home in Persia. And let your 
children, Mardonius, and mine, be held as gages, while 
you set out at the head of such troops as you shall choose, 
and with the greatest armament you wish, and if the 
king's affairs prosper, as you predict, then let my children 
and me also, be put to death. But if that happens which 
I anticipate, let the same be inflicted on yours, and on 
you — if indeed you ever return. Yet if you refuse to 
accept these conditions, and if at any rate you will lead 
the army against Greece, I announce that it will be 
heard by those who shall be left in this place, that Mar- 
donius, after bringing great calamities upon the Per- 
sians, was torn in pieces by dogs and birds, in such or 
such a spot of the Athenian or of the Lacedaemonian ter- 
ritory : — if indeed this fate does not befal him ere he 
reaches Greece. Yet shall he first have learned what 
sort of men they are against whom he incites the king to 
make war." 

To this speech of Artabanus, Xerxes, in great anger, 
thus replied — " Artabanus, you are my father's brother ; 
this saves you from paying the forfeit due to the pre- 
sumption of your discourse. Yet I lay upon you this 
disgrace, that, cowardly and pusillanimous as you are, you 
shall not attend me in this expedition against Greece ; 

(11) 



REPLY OF XERXES. 481 

but shall remain here among the women. Meanwhile I, 
without you, will accomplish all that I have spoken of. 
If I avenge not myself upon the Athenians, let me not 
be reckoned to be sprung from the stock of Darius, son 
of Hystaspes, and of Arsames — of Ariaramnes, of Teispes, 
of Cyrus, of Cambyses, of Teispes, of Achaemenes. 
And well I know that if we remain quiet they will not, 
but will presently invade our territory. This we may 
certainly infer from what they have already attempted, 
when they burned Sardis, and made inroads upon Asia. 
Neither party can now draw back; all that remains for us 
in the conflict on which we have entered, is either to 
make or sustain war. Either all these countries must 
become subject to the Greeks, or all those to the Per- 
sians. There can be no medium in this contention. And 
while it is honourable in us to avenge the injuries we 
have already sustained, I shall learn what dire evil I am 
to suffer in attacking these people, whom Pelops the 
Phrygian — a slave of my ancestors, so vanquished that, to 
the present time, they and the country they inhabit (Pelo- 
ponnesus) are designated from the conqueror." 

[Such were the expressions of Xerxes at that time, but 
when the hour of calm reflection arrived, he was disquieted 
by the advice Artabanus had given ; and consulting with him- 
self during the night, he came altogether to the conclusion 
that it was not his interest to make war upon Greece. Having 
so determined, he fell asleep, and then, as the Persians relate, 
he saw a vision of a man — tall and beautiful — standing before 
him, which thus spoke: — " Persian! — and after having re- 
solved — after having commanded the princes to assemble their 
__ forces, will you not lead them against Greece ? You neither 
act worthily in changing your purpose, nor will any one think 
well of you in so doing. Rather go forward in the course on 
which you this day resolved." After uttering these words, 
the vision disappeared. At break of day, Xerxes, without 
(13) 2 i 



4&Z THE SPECTRAL ADVISER 

paying any attention to the vision, convoked the Persian 
princes whom he had before assembled, and thus addressed 
them : — " Persians ! grant me your indulgence in changing 
my counsels. I have not yet attained consummate wisdom : 
and those who urge me to the enterprize in question have every 
moment beset me. On first hearing the advice given by 
Artabanus, the heat of youth impelled me to fling contumelious 
expressions at a man whose years should have commanded 
respect. But now, conscious of my fault, I adopt his advice. 
As therefore I have reversed the decree to invade Greece, 
desist from your preparations." The Persians, filled with joy 
in hearing this determination, did reverence to the king. 

But at night the same vision again appeared to Xerxes as he 
slept, and said : — " Son of Darius, you have then openly 
renounced before the Persians the invasion of Greece, and 
have paid no more attention to my words than as if you had not 
heard them. But now learn, unless forthwith you set out with 
the army, what ills shall arise to you : — great and powerful as 
you have rapidly become, so rapidly shall you be brought 
low." Xerxes, alarmed by this vision, rushed from his couch, 
and despatched a messenger to call Artabanus, whom, on his 
arrival, he thus addressed : — " Artabanus, I had lost posses- 
sion of reason when I replied to your good advice by insolent 
speeches ; but presently I felt my error, and perceived that I 
ought to take the course you recommended. And yet, though 
willing to do so, I am unable to effect my wishes. For 
since I changed my resolution, and perceived my error, a 
spectre has come, and presenting itself before me, utterly con- 
demns my altered purpose. Even now it has gone from me, 
after uttering threats. If then it is a god that has sent it, whose 
pleasure it is that the war with Greece should be undertaken, 
the same vision will appear to you also, and will repeat the 
commands it has given to me. And I think the best way of 
accomplishing our object will be for you to invest yourself 
with all my regal attire, and then to sit upon my throne, and 
then to sleep upon my couch." 

So spoke Xerxes : but Artabanus, who deemed not himself 
worthy to sit on the royal throne, could not at first yield to 

(16) 



OF THE KING. 483 

the invitation of the king ; but at length, being compelled to 
conform himself to the royal will, he thus expressed himself : 
" Sire, in my judgment it is an equal merit to think wisely, or 
to be willing to yield to one who offers good advice. Both 
these merits are your's : but the profligate persons who are your 
companions, deceive you, and one might apply to you what is 
said of the sea, that though in itself the most useful of all 
things to man, the gusts of wind that fall upon it suffer it not 
to retain its real nature. As to the injurious words you 
uttered against me, they gave me less pain than to perceive 
that when two courses were proposed to us, of which the one 
tended to swell the arrogance of the Persians, and the other 
to allay it, by showing how hurtful it is to inspire the soul 
with, the unceasing desire of obtaining something more than 
we at present possess — you adopted that course which is the 
most hazardous, both to yourself and to your people. And 
yet now, after adopting the better resolution, and when about 
to disband the armament intended to invade Greece, a vision, 
you say, has come — sent by some divinity, which prohibits 
your dismissing the forces. My son, these visions have nothing 
in them divine. These vagrant dreams which beset mankind 
arise from such causes as I will explain — and I have seen 
many more years than you. — Whatever a man has been most 
occupied with during the day, will usually give occasion to 
such wanderings of the fancy during sleep : and on the preceding? 
day this same expedition very deeply engaged us. But if it> 
is not what I suppose, but indeed an intimation from a god, 
then you have rightly judged that it will appear to me also, 
and utter the same injunctions. Nor will it the more appear 
if I put on your attire, than if I retain my own : nor rather if 
sleeping on your couch, than on my own — if indeed it is to 
appear at all. Whatever it may be, the spectre you saw is 
not so stupid as to take me for you, merely judging by the 
sight of your garb. But if it makes no account of me — if it 
deems me unworthy of such a manifestation, it would not 
deem otherwise, though I were clad in your robes instead of 
my own. Now then we have to learn whether it will present 
itself again. And if it does indeed reappear, and incessantly, 
(16) 2 i 2 • 



484 TERROR OF ARTABANUS. 

I shall myself think it divine. Yet, if you are so resolved, and 
if I cannot move your purpose, but must even sleep on your 
couch, I will do so, and may the spectre appear to me also ! 
But until it does, I must retain my own opinion." 

Having spoken to this effect, Artabanes, hoping to convince 
Xerxes of the futility of what he had mentioned, complied 
with his instructions, and putting on the king's vesture, sat 
down on the royal throne ; and when afterwards he v slept on the 
couch of Xerxes, the very same spectre presented itself to 
him also, and standing over him, thus addressed him : — " And 
art thou then the man that has dissuaded Xerxes from the 
expedition against Greece, as if thou wert his guardian ? 
But neither in future, nor even now, shalt thou with impunity 
avert the course of destiny. To Xerxes himself has been 
declared what he shall suffer if disobedient." Such were the 
menaces which Artabanus supposed the spectre' to address to 
him ; and he thought also that he saw it about to put out his 
eyes with hot irons. Uttering therefore a loud cry, and leap- 
ing from the couch, he repaired to the chamber of Xerxes, 
announcing that the vision had come to him also — and now he 
addressed to the king a different discourse. 

" I, O king, who have seen once and again extensive and 
powerful states reduced by inferior forces, could not suffer you 
to indulge the ambition of youth, well knowing as I do the 
evil of entertaining unbounded desires. I remembered also 
the issue of the expedition of Cyrus against the Massagetes ; 
nor have I forgotten that of Cambyses against the Ethiopians ; 
nor that of Darius against the Scythians, in which I myself 
took part :— I say, recollecting these enterprizes, I felt per- 
suaded that in remaining tranquilly at home, you would enjoy 
an incomparable felicity. But since some divinity gives the 
impulse, and, as it seems, threatens destruction to the Greeks, 
I myself am gained over, and renounce my first opinion. 
You therefore will make known to the Persians the intimation 
sent to you from the divinity, and command them to fulfil the 
orders first given by you for the preparations ; and so con- 
duct yourself, that, as this task is assigned to you by a god, 
nothing may be wanting on your part to accomplish it." Both 

(18) 



LEVIES FOR THE WAR. 485 

now confiding in the vision — day had no sooner appeared than 
Xerxes communicated what had passed to the Persians; and 
Artabanus, who at first had alone opposed the war, now dis- 
played great assiduity in promoting it. 

While Xerxes was preparing to set out on the expedition, 
a third vision appeared to' him, which the Mages interpreted 
as relating to the whole earth, and as intending that all man- 
kind should serve him. The vision was of this kind : — he 
thought himself crowned with an olive plant, the branches of 
which covered all the earth ; but presently the crown of olive 
disappeared from his head. Such was the decision of the 
Mages.] 

All the Persian princes who had been convoked imme- 
diately returned— each to his government, and each using 
the utmost diligence to acquit himself of the task imposed 
on him, in the hope of obtaining the promised gifts. Thus 
did Xerxes draw together his forces, by making requi- 
sitions from every country of the continent. Reckoning 
from the reduction of Egypt, four full years were occu- 
pied in training the levies, and in collecting the supplies. B. c 
In the course of the fifth he set forwards at the head of a 
vast multitude. Of all the armaments that we have 
known to be collected, this was by far the largest. Nor 
could that with which Darius invaded Scythia be com- 
pared with it ; nor that of the Seythians when in pursuit 
of the Cimmerians they invaded Media, and vanquished 
almost the whole of Upper Asia — which irruption Darius 
afterwards endeavoured to avenge ; nor the army said to 
have been conducted against Troy by the Atrides ; nor 
that of the Mysians and Teucrians, who, before the 
Trojan war, passing the Bosphorus into Europe, over- 
threw all the nations of Thrace, and advanced to the 
Ionian sea, and towards the south, as far as the river 
Peneus. None of these armies, I say, nor any others, 
can be compared with that of Xerxes. For what people 
(21) « 2i3 



481. 



486 CANAL OF ATHOS. 

of Asia was there which Xerxes did not lead against 
Greece ? Or what streams — excepting only the largest 
rivers, were not consumed by his army ? While some of 
the nations provided ships, others furnished men for 
the infantry, and others the cavalry : — some supplied 
transports for horses, besides men for the army, some 
prepared large vessels for forming the bridges ; and 
others provisions, and ships also to convey them. 



SECTION II. 

CANAL AT MOUNT ATHOS. BRIDGES AT THE HEL- 
LESPONT. ADVANCE OF THE ARMY TO ABYDOS. 

As the first expedition had suffered loss in doubling 
Mount Athos, preparations were made against the oc- 
currence of a like misfortune, by a work commenced three 
years before. There were stationed at Elaeum, a city of 
the Chersonese, a number of ships of war, from which 
were sent out men of all nations drawn from the army, 
who dug — under the lash ; — one set of men being suc- 
ceeded by another. The inhabitants also of the sur- 
rounding country were compelled to dig. The masters of 
the work were Bubares, son of Megabazus, and Ar- 
tachsees, son of Artaeus — both Persians. Athos is a great 
and celebrated mountain, stretching into the sea, and 
stocked with people. Where it joins the main land, it 
forms a peninsula, the isthmus being about twelve fur- 
longs in width. At the isthmus the surface is even, nor 
are there any considerable hills between the Acanthian 
gulph and that of Tor one. Upon the neck of land which 
terminates the promontory of Athos, stands the Greek 
city Sana ; and within the peninsula upon Athos, which 
the Persians endeavoured to cut off from the continent, 

(22) 



SKILL OV THE PHOENICIANS. 487 

are the following cities — Dium, Olophyxus, Acrothoon, 
Thyssus, and Cleonse. 

The excavation was thus managed : — The Barbarians 
stretching a line near the city Sana, allotted the entire 
space in parcels to the several nations that were to be 
employed. After the work had reached some depth, 
while those below dug, another set of men delivered the 
earth as fast as it was removed to a third set, stationed 
above them on the grade, and these again to others, and 
so on to the uppermost, who carried it off, and threw it 
aside. To all except to the Phoenicians it happened to 
undergo a double labour, by the caving in of the sides of 
the canal, occasioned by their making the width of the 
excavation as great below as above. But the Phoenicians 
displayed in this, as in other works, their superior in- 
telligence ; for having received the parcel of ground 
which fell by lot to their share, they commenced by 
making the upper part twice the width prescribed for 
the canal, and as they descended, constantly straitened 
the work, so that below it just equalled the other parts. 
Near at hand was a meadow, where was held a market 
and place of public business. Stores of provisions were 
brought from Asia. It is my deliberate opinion, that 
Xerxes commanded this excavation to be made from a 
vain ostentation, wishing at once to display and to leave 
a memorial of his power, for when with little labour he 
might have drawn his ships across the isthmus,* he 
caused this canal, through which the sea might flow, to 
be dug of such width that two triremes might work their 
oars in it abreast. 

The same people who were charged with the execution 
of this canal, received orders also to construct bridges 
over the river Strymon. For securing these bridges, a 
quantity of the papyrus and of white flax was provided by 

* A method practised in ancient time?. 

(25) 2 i 4 



488 ADVANCE OF THE ARMY. 

the Phoenicians and Egyptians, who were also charged 
to transport provisions, that neither the army nor the 
beasts of burden on their way towards Greece might 
suffer want. And Xerxes having informed himself of 
the line of country, he commanded that — here and there 
in the most fit places, stores should be collected, which 
were brought in barges and transports from all parts of 
Asia (Minor). Of these stores, the greater part was 
brought to a place called Leuce Acte (White Coast), 
in Thrace. Some also was placed at Tyrodiza, in Pe- 
rinthia, some at Doriscus, some at Eion, on the Strymon ; 
and some in Macedonia. 

While these various labours were in progress, the entire 
land forces having been brought together, marched for- 
wards with Xerxes from Critallis in Cappadocia, towards 
Sardis ; for there the forces collected from all parts of 
Asia had been ordered to assemble. Which of the 
generals it was who received the gifts proposed by the 
king to him who should bring the best appointed troops, 
I do not know, nor indeed am I sure whether the claims 
of the competitors were adjudged. The host crossing the 
Halys, spread itself through Phrygia, and arrived at 
Celsene, where arise the springs of the Mseander, and of 
another river not inferior to it, named Catarracte, which, 
springing up in the square of Celsene, discharges itself 
into the Masander. In this city is to be seen hanging 
up the skin of Silenus Marsyas, formed into a leathern 
bottle: — it is said to have been suspended there by 
Apollo, after he had flayed Silenus. In this same city 
was settled Pythius, son of Atys, a Lydian, who enter- 
tained the army and Xerxes himself with magnificent 
feasts, and even offered him money towards the expences 
of the war. When this offer was made, Xerxes inquired 
of the Persians near him of what quality this Pythius 
might be, and of what treasures possessed, that he should 
make such an offer. " Sire," replied they, "this is the 

(27) 



MUNIFICENCE OF PYTHIUS. 489 

man who presented Darius, your father, with a golden 
palm tree, and a vine, and who now, excepting yourself, 
is, so far as we know, the richest man living." 

Xerxes astonished by these accounts, inquired of Py- 
thius himself what might be the sum of his wealth. " I 
will not, O king," he replied, " hide them from you, or 
affect not to know the amount of my possessions ; but 
being, as I am, well informed on this point, will plainly 
declare it to you. For when first I learned that you 
were descending towards the Grecian seas — wishing to 
present you with a sum of money for the war, I made 
myself acquainted with my treasures, and found on cal- 
culation that I had two thousand talents of silver ; and of 
gold, four millions, wanting seven thousand — of Daric 
staters. — The silver and the gold I give you — for my 
slaves and farms will be sufficient for my maintenance." 
Xerxes delighted with the proposition replied, " Lydian 
host, since I left Persia, I have not until now met with 
any one who voluntarily entertained my army, or who, 
appearing before me, has spontaneously offered to furnish 
me with money for the war. But you have both enter- 
tained my army sumptuously, and offered me vast trea- 
sures. I therefore confer upon you, in return, this ho- 
nour — to be my friend ; and I give you, from my own 
treasures, the seven thousand staters wanted to complete 
your four millions : thus my gift will leave you possessed 
of a round sum. Keep then what you have acquired, 
and be always such as you are : so shall you have no 
cause, at present or hereafter, to repent t)f the part 
you have acted." — Having thus spoken, the king fulfilled 
his engagement, and proceeded on his march. 

Passing by Anaua, a city of Phrygia, and a lake whence 
salt is obtained, he arrived at Colosse, a large city of the 
same province, where the river Lycus, precipitating itself 
into a chasm, disappears, and passing under ground a 
distance of about five furlongs, issues again to the day, 
(30) 



490 ARRIVAL AT SARDIS. 

and empties itself into the Maeander. Thence advancing, 
the host reached Cydrara, a city standing on the boun- 
dary between Phrygia and Lydia, where stands a column 
erected by Croesus, bearing an inscription to indicate the 
boundary. On leaving Phrygia, and entering Lydia, two 
roads present themselves ; that to the left tends towards 
Caria, while the other, turning to the right, leads to 
Sardis, in pursuing which, it is necessary to cross the 
Maeander, and to pass by Callatebus, a city where con : 
fectioners - manufacture a sort of honey from tamarisks 
and wheat. Xerxes advancing on this road, found a 
plane tree so beautiful, that he decked it with jewels of 
gold, and appointed one of the band called immortal to be 
its guardian. On the second day afterwards, he reached 
the Lydian capital. 

When arrived at Sardis, his first care was to despatch 
heralds to Greece, demanding earth and water, and en- 
joining the people to provide entertainment for the king. 
These messengers went every where, except to Athens 
and Lacedaemon. He made this demand a second time, 
because he supposed that those cities which had refused 
to make the required offering when summoned to do so 
by Darius, would nowcoinply, under the influence of fear. 
And he wished by this means to acquaint himself exactly 
with their dispositions. After sending out the heralds, 
he prepared to march to Abydos. Meanwhile, the per- 
sons appointed to that work were yoking the Hellespont 
to join Asia to Europe. In the Chersonese, on the shores 
of the Hellespont, midway between Sestos and Madytus, 
and opposite to Abydos, is a rugged promontory, jutting 
into the sea. It was on this spot, not very long after the 
time of which we are speaking, that the Athenian general 
Xantippus, son of Ariphron, having taken prisoner Artayc- 
tes, a Persian, the governor of Sestos, nailed him alive 
to a plank. This Persian had unlawfully and atrociously 
brought women into the temple of Protesilaus, at Ekeum. 

(33) 



BRIDGES OF THE HELLESPONT. 491 

It was then at this promontory, commencing from 
Abydos, that the persons charged with the work, con- 
structed the bridges. One was formed by the Phoeni- 
cians, who used ropes of white flax : the other by the 
Egyptians, who employed the papyrus. The distance from 
Abydos to the opposite shore, is seven furlongs. The 
bridges were no sooner completed, than there arose a 
hurricane, which rent and dissipated both of them. 
Xerxes on hearing of this accident was filled with rage, 
and commanded, three hundred strokes of the whip 
to be inflicted on the Hellespont ; and also that a pair of 
fetters should be thrown into the deep. I have indeed 
heard that he sent persons to brand the Hellespont 
with a hot iron; at least he directed, that when the 
flogging was inflicted, the following barbarous and out- 
rageous words should be pronounced — " O thou bitter 
water! thy lord inflicts upon thee this punishment for 
having injured him, though uninjured by him. Yet the 
king — even Xerxes, will pass over thee, whether thou 
wilt or not. Justly no man offers sacrifice to thee, for 
thou art a perfidious and brackish stream." He also 
directed his officers to punish the sea in the same manner, 
and he caused the overseers of the bridges to be deca- 
pitated. This ungracious task having been executed by 
those to whom it was committed, other engineers were 
employed to construct new bridges, who proceeded in the 
following manner — They connected together penteconters 
and triremes — on the side towards the Euxine there were 
three hundred and sixty; and on the other, three hun- 
dred and fourteen. They were placed obliquely in re- 
spect of the Euxine ; but yet corresponding with the 
current of the Hellespont, in order to keep the supporters 
on the stretch.* The vessels being connected in a line, 

* This description of the bridge of boats has been variously under- 
stood, and I am inclined to think very much misunderstood. To explain 
the objections which lie against the several explanations that have 

(36) 



492 BRIDGES OF THE HELLESPONT. 

were also secured by large anchors on both sides; — to- 
wards the Euxine, to secure them against the winds that 
blow from within ; and on the other side, towards the 
west, and the .^Egaean sea, to guard against the south and 
south-east winds. Tn three places they left openings 
between the penteconters and triremes, for the passage to 
and fro of small vessels from the Euxine. From the 
land, the cables which connected the line were racked 
tight by capstans. Nor did they again use single cables, 
but formed each supporter with two of the flaxen cordage, 
or with four of those made from the papyrus. They 
were of even thickness and appearance throughout ; yet 
the flaxen cables were — in the same length — heavier than 
the other sort : — a cubit's length weighed a talent. When 
the passage was thus bridged over, planks were sawn of 
length equal to the width of the raft, and these were 
nicely fitted together as a flooring over the stretched 
cables; and these were again firmly bound together through- 
out their extent. Small branches were strewed upon the 
planks, and laid with a fair surface : earth was then spread 
over the branches, and pressed flat. On each side of the 
raft a fence was raised, lest the beasts of burden and the 
horses should take alarm in seeing the water beneath. 

All the works connected with the bridge were now 
completed ; as was also the trench at Mount Athbs, where 
dikes had been formed around the mouths of the canal, 
to prevent their being filled by the flux of the sea. It 
was announced then that the canal was completely 

been given, would occupy some pages — I translate the passage on the 
supposition that the bridge, instead of being extended across the stream 
from the promontory above Abydos, was stretched obliquely across the 
lower neck; so that its line of cordages would nearly correspond with the 
direction of the current : thus the cables would be kept on the stretch 
without having to sustain the momentum of the stream on the flanks of 
the vessels. Probably the penteconters were in one line, and the tri- 
remes in the other : this arrangement accounts for the difference of 
numbers on the two sides. 

(37) 



IMPRUDENCE OF PYTHIUS. 493 

finished. Xerxes, after passing the winter at Sardis, 
mustered the host at the commencement of spring, and 
advanced towards Abydos. While on his march, the sun, 
leaving its place in the heavens, disappeared ; and though 
the sky was cloudless, and perfectly serene, day was ex- 
changed for night. Xerxes in beholding and considering 
this event was filled with inquietude, and sought from the 
Mages the meaning of the portent. They declared 
— " That God predicted to the Greeks the extinction of 
their states :" for, as they said, " the sun was the tutelar 
of the Greeks, as the moon was of the Persians." 
Rejoiced at hearing this explanation, Xerxes resumed 
his march. 

But as the host moved forwards, Pythius the Lydian, 
terrified by the prodigy that had appeared in the heavens, 
and also emboldened by the gifts (lie had offered and 
received), approached Xerxes, and thus addressed him: — 
" My lord, would you grant me a favour which I desire 
to obtain, and which, though great for me to receive, 
will be of trivial cost for you to afford ?" Xerxes, sup- 
posing it to be any thing rather than what he actually 
asked, said that he would afford it, and commanded him 
to declare what he wished for. Upon this encourage- 
ment he confidently said : — " My lord ! I have five sons, 
and they are all, of course, enrolled in the army you are 
leading into Greece. Wherefore, O king, in pity to my 
advanced years, release to me one of my sons from the 
service, even the eldest, that he may take charge of me 
and of my property ; and as to the four, lead them with 
you ; and may you accomplish all your intentions, and 
return to your home." 

Xerxes, extremely enraged, replied : — " Base man ! 
and dost thou dare, when I am myself marching into 
Greece, and leading with me my own sons, and my 
brothers, and near relatives and friends, to make mention 
of thy sons, being as thou art my slave, and bound as 
(39). 



494 MUSTER OF THE HOST. 

thou art to follow me, with all thy house, and even 
thy wife ! But now learn this truth, that the temper of 
man dwells in his ears ; he who hears what is advan- 
tageous, has his whole body filled with gladness! but if 
he hears the reverse, he rages. When thou didst well, 
and made so many offers, thou hadst no room to boast of 
having surpassed a king in liberality ; and now even that 
thou takest the course of shameless impudence, thou shalt 
not receive thy deserts; but less. Thy acts of friendship 
shall redeem thyself and thy four sons, but as for the one 
whom thou dost chiefly love, he shall pay the forfeit of 
his life." With this reply he instantly commanded those 
whose business it was to execute orders of this kind, to 
search for the eldest of the sons of Pythius, and to cut 
him in two, and then to place a half of the body on the 
right hand side of the road, and a half on the left, so that 
the army might pass between. This was done ; and the 
army marched on between the two parts. 



SECTION III. 

MARCH AND MUSTER OF THE PERSIAN HOST. 

In the order of march, the sumpter beasts with the 
camp equipage took the lead ; next to them followed a 
promiscuous host of all nations, not distributed into dis- 
tinct bodies : they formed more than half of the whole 
army. After these an interval was left ; for this host 
was kept apart from the king. The royal train was led 
by a thousand horse, selected from the whole Persian 
army. Then a thousand spear men, chosen also from 
among all; they carried their spears with the point in- 

(40) 



ORDER OP MARCH. 495 

clined towards the earth. After these came ten sacred 
Nisaean horses, gorgeously caparisoned. The horses 
called Nissean, are such as are bred on a spacious plain 
in Media of that name, and which produces horses of 
uncommon size. Close behind the ten horses, followed 
the sacred chariot of Jupiter, drawn by eight white 
horses, and behind them walked the charioteer, holding 
the reins ; for no mortal ever ascends this seat. After 
this followed Xerxes himself, in a chariot drawn by 
Nisaean horses, and the charioteer walked by the side ; 
his name was Patiramphes, a Persian — the son of Otanes. 

In this order did Xerxes issue from Sardis ; but when 
he felt so disposed, he descended from the {military) 
chariot, and went into a close carriage.* Behind the 
king's carriage followed a thousand of the bravest and 
most nobly born of the Persians, carrying their spears in 
the usual manner {not lowered). Then another select 
body of a thousand horse. Then ten thousand of the 
Persian infantry ; and of these one thousand carried 
spears which, instead of iron spikes at the lower end, had 
golden pomegranates : those who bore these spears formed 
the exterior ranks, so as to include the others : the nine 
thousand bore spears with silver pomegranates. The 
spearmen before mentioned, who carried their spears 
lowered, had also golden pomegranates; but those fol- 
lowing nearest to Xerxes had golden apples. After the 
ten thousand infantry, came a Ibody of ten thousand 
Persian cavalry ; behind these an interval of two fur- 
longs was left. Then followed, in a confused crowd, the 
rest of the host. 

Tn leaving Lydia, the army took the road towards the 
river Caicus, and entering the Mysian territory, advanced 
beyond the Caicus, having Mount Cana on the left hand, 
and passing through Atarnea, reached the city Carina. 

* Of that^sort used by the Persian ladies — a Palanquin. 

'(42) 



496 REVIEW OF THE ARMY. 

Thence it moved on through the plain of Thebes, leaving 
on one side Adramyttium, and Antandrus, a Pelasgian 
city. Keeping Mount Ida on the left, it entered the 
territory of Ilium. And in the night in which the army 
rested under Ida, there were thunderings and flashes, by 
which no small number of men perished. The army next 
reached the Scamander, the first river since leaving 
Sardis, whose waters failed to satisfy the thirst of the 
host and of the cattle ; for its stream was dried up by 
them. When he reached the banks of this river, Xerxes 
ascended the Pergamus of Priam {citadel of Troy), 
which he much wished to see. After inspecting it, and 
learning the whole history of it, he sacrificed a thousand 
oxen to the Trojan Minerva; at the same time the Mages 
performed libations to the heroes of the place. The night 
after these ceremonies, a panic fell upon the camp, so that 
at day-break the army proceeded thence, leaving on the 
left Rhostium, and Ophrynium, and Dardanus, which 
last city borders upon Abydos. On the right were the 
Gergithe-Teucrians. 

When he reached Abydos, Xerxes wished to behold the 
whole army. For this purpose he had before given direc- 
tions to the people of Abydos to construct, upon a rising 
ground, an elevated throne of white marble. Seated on 
this throne, he overlooked the line of coast, and saw at 
once both the army on land, and the fleet. After con- 
templating the scene, he desired to view a sea fight, which 
was accordingly performed, and the Phoenicians of Sidon 
were the victors. He was gratified both by the combat 
and the army. As he looked on every side, and saw the 
Hellespont entirely covered with vessels, and all the 
coasts and plains around Abydos filled with men, Xerxes 
at first blessed himself; but presently afterwards shed 
tears. 

Artabanus, his uncle, who at first had with freedom 
advised the king not to invade Greece, perceiving his 

(46) 



SENTIMENTS- OF XERXES. 497 

emotion on this occasion, thus addressed him : " O king, 
how diverse is your behaviour now and a short time since : 
then you blessed yourself — now you weep !" " Compas- 
sion seized me," replied Xerxes, " in reflecting on the 
brevity of human life : — of this vast multitude not one shall 
be living a hundred years hence !" " Yet," replied 
Artabanus, " there are ills to be suffered in the course of 
life, more worthy of commiseration than death itself. 
For even in so short a life there is no man — no, not the 
happiest in this assemblage, or elsewhere, to whom it 
does not happen more than once, yes often, to wish to 
die rather than live. Such are the calamities to which 
we are exposed, such the diseases that torment us, that 
they make life, short as it is, seem but too long. Thus it 
is that death, through the troublousness of life, becomes 
to man the most ardently desired refuge. In mixing 
the sweet in the cup of life, the Deity makes evident his 
jealousy."* 

" Artabanus," replied Xerxes, " if indeed human life 
is such as you represent it, let us dismiss the subject ; 
nor employ ourselves in recounting woes, while we have 
so much that is prosperous before us. But now tell me — 
If the vision which appeared to us had been less con- 
vincing, would you still have retained your first opinion, 
and have opposed the invasion of Greece ; or would you 
have changed your opinion? Tell me explicitly." " O 
king," said Artabanus, " may the vision which appeared 
to us issue as we both desire ! But for my own part, I 
am still so fraught with fear, that I scarcely possess my- 
self; and among many gloomy anticipations, there are two 
things especially which I regard as eminently adverse to 
you." " Most extraordinary of men," said Xerxes, 

* It was an opinion commonly entertained by the ancients, that the 
gods, jealous of men, reserved all real happiness to themselves ; and 
that they allowed mankind to taste of pleasure to render the calamities 
of life the more grievous. 

(48) 2 k 



498 CONVERSATION BETWEEN 

" and what are these two things which you think so 
inimical to me ? Is it that you complain of the army, as 
not numerous enough, and that you think the Grecian 
forces will greatly outnumber ours? or think you that 
our fleet will fail to match theirs ? or do you entertain both 
suppositions ? If indeed our present armament appears 
to be insufficient, another may be instantly collected." 

" O king," answered Artabanus, " no reasonable per- 
son can complain of the army as too small, or of the 
ships as too few ; and if you were to increase their num- 
bers, the two things of which I speak would become still 
more formidable to you ; — they are — the land and the sea. 
For as I conjecture, there is no where in any sea a port 
capacious enough to receive this fleet, should a tempest 
arise ; or any place where the ships might securely ride. 
Nor would one harbour be enough ; we need to find one 
such on each coast we may visit. But now as you have 
no such harbours of refuge, remember that man does 
not command fortuitous calamities, but they him. So 
much for the first of these things. I proceed to speak 
of the second. The land, I say, not less than the sea, 
presents itself as your enemy. If no adversary opposes 
your progress, by so much the more will it be hurtful to 
you, as you advance further and further, and continually 
steal upon the way. Men are never satiated with success. 
And if none oppose you, the land, I affirm, as time ad- 
vances, will produce you famine. The perfection of 
human conduct is this — in previous deliberations to cal- 
culate with fear upon every ill that may arise : but in the 
execution of enterprises to be fearless." 

Xerxes resumed : " Artabanus, you have very plausibly 
discussed these points. Yet do not fear every thing, nor 
calculate on all occasions with equal care. If indeed you 
must anticipate every possible event that may attend each 
enterprise that is proposed, you will effect nothing. 
Better is it, in daring all, actually to suffer even the half 

(50) 



XERXES AND ARTABANUS. 499 

of what may be feared, than in retreating fearfully from 
every danger, to avoid suffering altogether. If you argue 
against whatever may be proposed, and yet cannot advance 
any thing absolutely certain, you will stumble in your own 
path, not less than those do whom you oppose : the choice 
then is even ; and I think there is no man living who can 
act upon absolute certainty. Success, for the most part, 
falls to the lot of those who resolve to act; while it 
rarely comes to those who calculate all possibilities, and 
are tardy in performance. You see to what a height of 
power the Persian empire has attained. But if the kings, 
my predecessors, had followed a mode of thinking like 
yours, or if, though not themselves so disposed, they had 
been surrounded by counsellors like you, you would never 
have seen our affairs in this flourishing condition. It was 
in dashing through dangers that they advanced so far. 
Great enterprises are carried forward amid great dan- 
gers. We therefore are only following their example. 
We march at the most favourable season of the year, 
and after vanquishing the whole of Europe, we shall 
return home without any where suffering famine or any 
other unlucky accident. Not only do we carry with us 
a large supply of provisions, but we shall appropriate the 
grain of the people whose lands we invade ; for we are 
about to make war, not upon nomadic tribes, but upon 
cultivators of the soil." 

" Since, O king," replied Artabanus, " you will your- 
self give no indulgence to fears, at least receive my 
advice on one particular — and the length of discourse -. 
must correspond to the greatness of the affairs in question. 
Cyrus, son of Cambyses, vanquished all Ionia except 
Athens, and made it tributary to the Persians. I there- 
fore counsel you not by any means to lead these men {the 
Greeks of Asia) against their fathers. Without their 
aid we are more than a match for the enemy. But if 
they follow us to the war, either they will act a most 
(51) 2 K 2 



500 DISMISSION OF ARTABANUS. 

unworthy part in aiding to reduce their mother country to 
slavery ; or they will prove themselves true to its in- 
terests — as they ought — in assisting to maintain its free- 
dom. If they take the former course, the advantage to 
us cannot be very great ; but should they be just to their 
country, they may effect the most extensive damage to 
your army. Consider that ancient and true saying — the 
termination of an enterprise is not always to be foreseen 
at the commencement of it." 

" Artabanus," said the king, " of all the opinions you 
have advanced, there is none in which you err more 
than in professing to fear the defection of the Ionians, of 
whom we have proof, which you yourself are witness to, 
as were also all those who attended Darius in the Scy- 
thian expedition, when it was upon them that the entire 
Persian army depended for destruction or preservation. 
Yet they afforded us then just and faithful service, and 
nothing else. Besides this proof of fidelity, while they 
leave in our territory their children, their wives, and 
their goods, it is not to be imagined that they will 
attempt any revolt. Dismiss then this fear also — be of 
good heart, and preserve my house and government at 
home. — To you alone of all the Persians I commit the 
ensigns of sovereignty. 

So saying, Xerxes sent away Artabanus to Susa, and 
then convoking the most distinguished Persians, thus 
addressed them — " Persians, I have assembled you, that 
I might enjoin you to acquit yourselves as brave men, 
and not sully the glory of the exploits hitherto achieved 
by our nation — great and memorable as they are. Let 
each and all of us be filled with zeal for the service. We 
are labouring to promote a cause common to all. Where- 
fore I exhort you to prosecute this war vigorously ; for, as 
I am informed, the people we are about to attack are 
valiant, and if we overcome them, there is no other people 
whatsoever that can bring an army into the field to oppose 

(53) 



PASSAGE OF THE HELLESPONT. 501 

us. We will therefore pass on as soon as we have im- 
plored the favour of the gods, whose is Persia." 

The same day preparations were made for the passage 
of the army. The next was waited for, and the rising of 
the sun eagerly desired ; meanwhile, incense of all kinds 
was offered to the gods upon the bridges, and the road 
was strewed with branches of myrtle. At the instant of 
sun-rising, Xerxes poured a libation from a golden cup 
into the sea, at the same time addressing a prayer to the 
sun, intreating that no accident might prevent his con- 
tinuing to vanquish the nations of Europe, until he had 
reached its utmost limits. As he finished this prayer, 
he threw the cup into the Hellespont, together with a 
golden vase and a Persian sword of the kind called a scy- 
metar. Whether this was done as an offering to the sun, 
or whether, repenting of the stripes he had inflicted on 
the Hellespont, he wished to make amends to that water 
by these gifts which were thrown into it, is a question I 
cannot certainly determine. 

These ceremonies finished, the whole of the infantry 
and cavalry passed over that bridge which was on the 
side of the Euxine, while all the attendants with the 
sumpter beasts passed the other, on the side of the 
iEgaean sea. The march was led by the ten thousand 
Persians — all wearing crowns ; then came the promis- 
cuous host of all nations. — The march of these occupied 
the first day. On the second day came — first, the horse- 
men, and those with their lances lowered — these also 
crowned : after them the sacred horses, and the sacred 
car; then Xerxes himself, and the spearmen, and the 
thousand horse ; and following them another host. While 
the army passed the bridges, the fleet also moved over to 
the opposite side. I have indeed heard it affirmed, that 
the king passed over last of all. When he reached the 
European side, he witnessed the passing forwards of his 
(56) 2 k 3 



502 ADVANCE 

army under the lash.* Seven days and nights, without 
a pause, were occupied in bringing the host across the 
bridges. On this occasion, when Xerxes had passed 
the Hellespont, a certain Hellespontine is reported to 
have exclaimed — " O Jupiter ! wherefore is it that, as- 
suming the habit of a Persian, and taking the name of 
Xerxes, thou dost lead all mankind after thee to subvert 
Greece, when without them thou mightest easily do the 
same thing." 

When all had passed over, and were proceeding on 
their march, a great prodigy occurred, to which Xerxes 
paid no attention, although in fact its meaning was ob- 
vious ; — a mare brought forth a hare ! Whence it might 
readily have been foreseen that Xerxes, who was about 
to lead an army into Greece with great arrogance and 
magnificence, would return whence he came with much 
peril to himself. Another prodigy also had happened 
while the king was yet at Sardis, for a mule produced a 
mis-shapen birth. Yet disregarding both, he urged on 
his way at the head of the army, while the fleet, leaving 
the Hellespont, coasted along in a direction contrary to 
that of the army, for it proceeded directly towards the 
west, to the promontory of Sarpedon, where it was or- 
dered to wait ; while the army marching eastward {north 
east) on the main land, took the road through the Cher- 
sonese, having on the right hand the tomb of Helle, 
daughter of Athamas, and on the left the city named 
Cardia. Thence, having made the circuit of the Gulph 
of Melan, they passed through the midst of a city, called 
Agora, and crossed the river Melan, whence the Gulph 
takes its name, fhe waters of which failed to supply the 
thirst of the host. From this point they took a westerly 

* It was the common practice of the Persians to flog their armies on 
the march, and into the field of battle. 

(58) 



OF THE ARMY. 503 

direction, passing iEnos, an iEolian city, and the lake 
Stentoris, and reached Doriscus. 

Doriscus is an extensive shore and plain of Thrace : 
through it runs the large river Hebrus, upon whioh is 
erected a royal fort, called Doriscus, and where Darius 
had placed a Persian garrison at the time of his Scythian 
expedition. This plain appeared to Xerxes very proper 
for the purpose of mustering and numbering his forces, 
which accordingly he effected. The entire fleet having 
arrived at Doriscus, the captains, at the command of 
Xerxes, hauled the ships on the beach, in the neighbour- 
hood of the fort, and along the coast on which stands 
Sala, a Samothracian city, and Zona, and which is ter- 
minated by the celebrated promontory of Serrhium. This 
region anciently belonged to the Ciconians. The vessels 
being hauled ashore,, the crews were refreshed, while the 
land forces were numbered. 

What might be the precise number of each division 
of the army as furnished by the different nations, I am 
not able to state, for these particulars have never been 
mentioned. But the entire hos,t is known to have 
amounted to one million, seven hundred thousand men. 
The numbering was managed in the following manner. 
Ten thousand men were brought together in one place, 
and being crammed as close as possible, a circle was 
drawn around them : this done, the ten thousand were 
removed, and a fence was reared on the circle about as 
high as a man's elbows.* Then another set of men was 
stuffed into the enclosed space, and so on in succession, 
until in this manner the whole host had been numbered. 
After the . numbering, the host was divided into bodies, 
according to the several nations included in the army, 
which were these : — 

The Persians, whose costume was this — The head was 

* Metonomy for ofj,(j)a\og. 

(61) 2 k 4 



504 DESCRIPTION / 

surrounded by a consolidated bonnet, called a tiara. The 
body was enclosed by a sleeved ^Jaistcoat, curiously 
wrought with scales of iron, like thof/e of a fish. On the 
lower limbs were worn trousers; and for the shield, a 
buckler of osiers was used : beneath this hung the quiver. 
The Persian foot soldier carried a short spear, a long 
bow with arrows of reed, and aiso a dagger, suspended on 
the right thigh from the girdle. The Persians were 
commanded by Otanes, the father of Amestris, the wife 
of Xerxes. They Were formerly called by the Greeks 
Cephenes, but by themselves and by their neighbours they 
were called Artseans. But Perseus, son of Danae and 
of Jupiter, visited Cepheus, son of Belus, whose daughter 
Andromeda he married. By her he had a son, whom he 
named Perses, and whom he left behind him ; and as 
Cepheus had no son, the appellation — Persians, was as- 
sumed by the nation. 

The Medes were accoutred in the same manner as 
the Persians ; in truth, this costume is properly Median — 
not Persian. They were commanded by Tigranes of the 
Achaemenidian family. The Medes were of old uni- 
versally called Arians ; but when Medea of Colchis came 
from Athens among these Arians, they changed their 
name. This is what the Medes say of themselves. The 
military habit of the Cissians was like that of the Per- 
sians, except that instead of the folded tiaras, they wore 
mitres. The Cissians were led by Anaphes, son of 
Otanes. The arms of the Hyrcanians were the same as 
of the Persians. Megapanus commanded them, who 
afterwards was governor of Babylon. 

The Assyrians wore brazen helmets, wrought and 
twisted in I know not what barbaric form, hard to be 
described. Their shields, spears, and daggers, were like 
those of the Egyptians. Moreover, they carried wooden 
clubs, knotted with iron, and wore corslets of linen. 
By the Greeks they arc called Syrians ; but by the 

" (68) 



OF THE ARMY. 505 

Barbarians, Assyrians. In the midst of the Assyrians 
were the Chaldaeans. Their general was Otaspes, son of 
Artachseus. 

The Bactrians wore on their heads a mitre, very nearly 
resembling that of the Medes ; their bows — peculiar to 
the country, were of reed (bamboo), and they carried 
short javelins. The Saces, who are {Scythians, had 
cock's-comb tiaras, ending in a point, which stood erect : 
they also wore trousers, and carried bows after the 
fashion of their country, with daggers, besides battle 
axes. These, though Amyrgian Scythians, were called 
Saces, which is the name given by the Persians to the 
Scythians at large. Hystaspes, son of Darius, and of 
Atossa, daughter of Cyrus, commanded the Bactrians 
and Saces. 

The Indians were clad in garments made from the 
produce of a tree (cotton) ; they had bows of bamboo, 
and arrows of the same, headed with iron : such was the 
accoutrement of the Indians. They were marshalled 
under the orders of Pharnazathres, son of Artabates. 
The Arians were armed with Median bows ; but in other 
respects like the Bactrians. Sisamnes, son of Hydarnes, 
was their general. The Parthians, the Chorasmians, the 
Sogdians, the Gandarians, and Dadices, march in the 
same military dress and furniture as the Bactrians. 
Of these, the Parthians and Chorasmians were commanded 
by Artabazus, son of Pharnaces : while the Sogdians 
were under Azanes, son of Artseus ; and the Gandarians 
and Dadices under Artyphius, son of Artabanus. 

The Caspians were clad in goats' skins, and armed in 
the manner of their country, with bows of reed, and 
scymetars : they had for their leader Ariomardus, bro- 
ther of Artyphius. The Saranges wore garments splen- 
didly dyed : their buskins reached to the knee ; their 
bows and spears were Median. Pherendates, son of 
Megabazus, commanded them. The Paetyans also wore 
(67) 



506 DESCRIPTION 

clothing of goats' skin, and carried bows and dag- 
gers peculiar to their country : their general was Artyn- 
tes, son of Ithamathres. The Utians, and Mycians, and 
Paricanians, were furnished like the Pactyans. The 
two former people were under Arsamenes, son of Darius, 
and the latter under Siromitres, son of GEobazus. 

The Arabians were clad in long cloaks, girt about the 
waist ; on the right arm were slung long bows, which 
bent both ways. The Ethiopians, clad in the skins of 
leopards and lions, carried bows formed from branches of 
the palm tree, and not less than four cubits in length : 
with these they used short reed arrows, pointed with 
sharpened stones instead of iron : — the stone used for this 
purpose is the same that is employed in engraving seals. 
They have besides pikes, armed with stags' horns, the 
ends of which are sharpened like the head of a dart; 
and also knotted clubs. When they go to battle, they 
daub one half of the body with gypsum (ivhite) and the 
other half with red ochre. These Arabians, and the 
Ethiopians, inhabiting the country about Egypt, were 
under the command of Arsames, son of Darius and 
of Artystone, daughter of Cyrus, and whom of all his 
wives Darius most loved : he had an image of her formed 
of solid gold. 

The eastern Ethiopians (those of Asia), for they were 
divided from the others, were marshalled with the In- 
dians ; they do not differ from the others in appearance, 
or in any thing except their language and their hair ; 
for the eastern Ethiopians have flowing hair (not frizzled), 
while those of Libya have^air more crisp than that of any 
other people. These Asiatic Ethiopians were accoutred, 
for the most part, like the Indians : on their heads they 
wore the skins of horses' heads, with the ears ; — the mane 
served them for a crest, while the ears stood erect. For 
bucklers they used defences made of the skin of the 
crane. The Libyans appeared clothed in skins, and 

(71) 



OF THE ARMY. 507 

carried javelins, the points of which were hardened 
in the fire : they were commanded by Massages, son of 
Oarizus. 

The military furniture of the Paphlagonians consisted 
of a helmet formed of plaits : they had small bucklers, 
and spears of no great length ; besides which, they car 
ried darts and daggers : — their buskins, after the fashion 
of their country, reached to the mid-leg. Thus also 
were habited the Ligyes and the Matienians, and the 
Mariandynians, and the Syrians — called by the Persians 
Cappadocians. Dotus, son of Megasidrus, commanded 
the Paphlagonians and Matienians ; while the Marian- 
dynians, the Ligyes, and the Syrians were under 
Gobryas, son of Darius and Arty stone. The Phrygians, 
with some variations, were attired like the Paphlagonians. 
The Phrygians, as the Macedonians affirm, were called 
Briges so long as they remained in Europe, and were 
intermixed with the Macedonians ; but passing over to 
Asia, they ehanged their name as well as their country^ 
adopting the appellation — Phrygians. The Armenians, 
being a colony of Phrygians, were armed like them : both 
were under Artochmes, who had married a daughter of 
Darius. 

The marshal attire of the Lydians was much like that 
of the Greeks. The Lydians formerly were called 
Meonians, but afterwards adopted the name of Lydus, 
son of Atys. The Mysians wore a helmet peculiar to 
their country, and carried small shields, and used fire- 
hardened darts. These are sprung from the Lydians, 
and are also designated from Mount Olympus — Olym- 
pians. Both Lydians and Mysians were under the 
command of Artaphernes, son of Artaphernes, the 
same who was joined with Datis in the battle of 
Marathon. 

The Thracians had the skins of foxes on their heads : — 
the body was wrapped in a tunic, over which was thrown 
(75) 



508 DESCRIPTION 

a cloak of many colours : the feet and legs were covered 
with boots of fawn's skin ; they were provided with darts, 
crescent bucklers, and small daggers. These, when they 
passed into Asia, acquired the name Bithynians, though, 
according to their own account, their original name 
was Strymonians, derived from their inhabiting the 
banks of the Strymon, whence they say they were driven 
by the Teucrians and Mysians. The Asiatic Thracians 
were under Bassaces, son of Artabanus ........ .* 

they carry small shields, formed of raw hides, and each 
man had two javelins of the Lycian fashion (or, of the 
sort used in hunting the wolf), they wore brazen helmets, 
and on them the ears and horns of the ox, in brass also ; 
and over all a crest. Their legs were bound about with 
red ribbons. Among these people there is an oracle of 
Mars. 

The Cabalian Meonians (and those) called Lasonians, 
were habited and armed like the Cilicians : this costume 
I shall mention when I come to speak of the martial 
array of that people. The Milyans had short spears ; 
their tunics were close buttoned up. Some of them 
carried Lycian bows ; their helmets were of leather. 
Badres, son of Hystanes, commanded all these people. 
The Moschians wore wooden helmets, and carried small 
bucklers and short spears with large heads. In like fashion 
were furnished the Tibarenians, and Macrones, and Mo- 
synoeces: — they marched severally under the following 
leaders — Ariomardus, son of Darius, and of Parmys, 
daughter of Smerdis, son of Cyrus, commanded the Mos- 
chians and Tibarenians; — Artayctes, son of Cherasmes, 
who was governor of Sestos on the Hellespont, led the 
Macrones and the Mosynceces. 

The Mares wore skull caps formed of many plaits, after 
the fashion of their country ; their bucklers were small, 

* The name of the people is believed to be here wanting in the text. 

<7B) 



OF THE ARMY. 509 

and made of skins : they carried darts. The head pieces 
of the Colchians were of wood ; their bucklers small, and 
made of untanned hides ; their spears short : besides 
these they were also armed with swords. Pharandates, 
son of Teaspes, commanded the Mares and Colchians. 
The arms of the Alarodians and Saspires were the same 
as those of the Colchians. Masistius, son of Siromitres, 
was their general. 

The nations inhabiting those islands of the Erythraean 
sea, to which the king sends persons condemned to ba- 
nishment, were habited and armed in a manner resembling 
the costume of the Medes. These islanders were com- 
manded by Mardontes, son of Bagaeus, who, two years 
afterwards, was slain fighting at the head of his troops at 
the battle of My c ale. 

These then were the nations ' marshalled in the army 
which marched overland to Greece ; and those whom I 
have mentioned were their generals who marshalled them 
in order of battle, and numbered them, appointing cap- 
tains of thousands, and of ten thousands ; while they left 
it to the captains of ten thousands to nominate the cap- 
tains of hundreds and of tens. Thus each people and 
troop had its own leaders, though all subordinated to the 
(Persian) princes I have named. Again, all these com- 
manders, with the entire land forces, were placed under 
the control of Mardonius, son of Gobryas, and of Tri- 
tantaechmes, son of Artabanus, who gave his opinion 
against the invasion of Greece, and of Smerdomenes, son 
of Otanes — both of whom were nephews of Darius, and 
cousins of Xerxes ; and of Masistes, son of Darius and 
Atossa; and of Gergis, son of Arizus ; and of Megabyzus, 
son of Zopyrus. These were the commanders in chief of 
the entire land forces, excepting only the ten thousand 
selected from the whole Persian army, for they were 
commanded by Hydarnes, son of Hydarnes, and these 
ten thousand Persians were called immortal, because 
(83) 



510 DESCRIPTION OF THE 

whenever any one of them was removed from his place, 
either by death or sickness, another man was elected in his 
room, so that the body never numbered more or less than 
ten thousand. The Persians, as they were the bravest 
men in all the army, so were they the most sumptuously 
arrayed. Their dress I have already described : besides 
this, they wore a vast profusion of ornaments of gold. 
They were also followed by close carriages (or litters) 
with their ladies, as well as by a very numerous and 
well appointed train of attendants. Their provisions also 
were carried apart from those of the army, by camels and 
other sumpter beasts. 

All the nations above-mentioned have cavalry ; but 
none furnished them on this occasion, except those now 
to be mentioned. The Persian cavalry are attired like 
the infantry, only that some of them had ornaments 
wrought in brass or iron on their tiaras. There is a 
nomadic race called Sagartians of Persian extraction, 
and using the same language, but attired in a manner 
between the Persian and the Pactyan. They fur- 
nished a body of eight thousand horse : these people are 
not accustomed to carry any weapon of brass or iron, 
except only a dagger ; but instead, they are provided 
with reins, formed of thongs braided together : trusting 
to these alone, they enter the field of battle, and use 
them in the following manner — Mingling with the com- 
batants, they throw out their reins, which have a noose at 
the end, and with these catch whatever may happen to 
come in their way, whether man or horse, and while 
entangled in the coils, pull him towards them till they 
stab him. Such is their mode of fighting ; — they were 
marshalled with the Persians. 

The Median cavalry, as well as that of the Cissians, 
were habited like the infantry. — So were the Indian 
cavalry, who beside their riding horses, had chariots of 
war, drawn, some by horses, and others by wild asses 

(86) 



ARMY AND FLEET. 511 

{onager; zebra). The Bactrians and Caspians were ac- 
coutred the same — cavalry and infantry ; as were the 
Arabians, who all had camels — not less swift than horses. 
These were the only nations that furnished cavalry — the 
number of which, exclusively of camels, and the beasts 
attached to the chariots, was eighty thousand. The 
cavalry of each people were marshalled with its infantry, 
excepting only that of the Arabians, which was placed in 
the rear, that the horses might not take alarm at the 
camels, which they cannot bear. 

The generals of the horse were Harmamithres and 
Titheeus, the sons of Datis. Pharnuches, the third 
general of the horse, was left at Sardis, having met with 
an accident as the army was leaving that city. — While 
on horseback a dog ran between the legs of his steed, 
which not having seen it before, took fright, reared, 
and threw Pharnuches : the fall occasioned his vomiting 
blood, and in the end, brought on a phthisis. His ser- 
vants, in fulfilment of a command he gave immediately 
after the accident, brought the horse to the spot where 
it had thrown its master, and there they cut off its legs 
at the knee. Thus did Pharnuches lose his command. 



SECTION IV. 

MUSTER OF THE FLEET: REVIEW OF THE FORCES. 

The triremes amounted to twelve hundred and seven, 
and were furnished as follows — The Phoenicians with the 
Syrians of Palestine, brought three hundred ; — the men 
were thus habited — their helmets were much in the 
Greek fashion ; they wore linen corslets, their targets 
(89) 



512 MUSTER OF THE FLEET. 

had no tiers (or iron felloes) ; they were armed with 
javelins. These Phoenicians, according to their own 
account, anciently dwelt on the coast of the Ery threean 
sea; thence passing over (land), they came and settled 
on the coast of Syria. This part of Syria, and all the 
country as far as Egypt, is called Palestine. The Egyp- 
tians furnished two hundred ships ; the men wore helmets 
formed in jointed pieces : their shields were concave, and 
had large rims (or tiers), their weapons were sea-javelins 
and massy hatchets. Most of them wore thoracles, and 
carried broad swords. 

The Cyprians furnished a hundred and fifty ships : the 
costume of the men was this ; — their chiefs wore mitres, 
and the rest turbans ;* in other points, their attire was 
Grecian ; for the Cyprians are a mixture of many nations, 
as they themselves confess, some coming from Salamis 
and Athens, some from Arcadia, some from Cythnus, some 
from Phoenicia, and some even from ^Ethiopia. 

The Cilicians brought a hundred ships : these people 
wore a national helmet ; their shields were mere targets, 
formed of raw hides ; their cloaks were woollen ; each 
man carried two darts and a sword, not unlike the Egyp- 
tian broad sword. The Cilicians were formerly called 
Hypachseans ; but afterwards took their designation from 
Cilex, son of Agenor, a Phoenician. 

The Pamphylians furnished thirty ships ; they were 
armed in the manner of the Greeks. They are descended 
from those who, returning from Troy, were scattered with 
Amphilochus and Calchas. 

The Lycians had fifty ships : they wore thoracles and 
greaves : their bows were formed of the horn-beam tree, 
and arrows of reed unfledged ; they had darts also. Over 
their shoulders they wore goats' skins, and on their heads 
caps garnished with feathers : their weapons were daggers 

* fc-iSwae probably Kirapac. 

(92) 



MUSTER OF THE FLEET. 518 

and falchions. The Lycians coming originally from Crete 
were called Termiles, but received the name of Lycus, 
son of Pandion, an Athenian. 

The Asiatic Dorians furnished thirty ships ; as they 
came from Peloponnesus their weapons were like those 
of the Greeks. The Carians had seventy ships, and were 
accoutered like the Greeks, only that they carried fal- 
chions and daggers. What name these people formerly 
bore, I have mentioned in an early part of this history 
(page 81). The Ionians furnished a hundred ships ; 
their dress and arms were Grecian. So long as they 
dwelt in that part of Peloponnesus, now called Achaia, 
and before the time when Danaus and Xuthus came into 
Peloponnesus, they were, as the Greeks affirm, called 
iEgialian Pelasgians ; but afterward, Ionians, from Ion, 
son of Xuthus. 

The islanders brought seventeen ships : and were 
armed like the Greeks. They are of Pelasgian origin, 
but in after times came to be called Ionians, in the same 
manner as the people of the twelve cities founded by the 
Athenians. The iEolians had sixty ships ; their costume 
is Grecian: they also, according to the Greeks, were 
anciently called Pelasgians. The Hellespontines — ex- 
cepting those of Abydos, who, at the command of the 
king, remained at home as guardians of the bridge — 
with those from the Euxine, who joined the fleet, fur- 
nished a hundred ships. Their attire was Grecian, for 
they are colonies of the Ionians and Dorians. 

There were Persians, Medes, or Saces, on board all 
the ships. Of the whole fleet, the best sailing vessels were 
those of the Phoenicians, and among the Phoenician vessels, 
those of Sidon were the best. The crews of the ships, as 
well as the men forming the land army, were all commanded 
by native officers, whose names I have not thought 
myself bound to learn or to record. Nor were there 
any distinguished leaders of the ships of each nation ; 
(%) 2 i. 



,~)U COMMANDERS OP THE FLEET. 

but among the vessels of each nation, there were as many 
commanders as there happened to be cities whence they 
were furnished. And these commanders, far from taking 
the rank of generals, were considered merely as slaves, 
bound to perform military service. And I have already 
mentioned the Persian generals in whom all the power 
was vested, and who commanded the several nations. 

The general officers of the fleet were — Ariabignes, son of 
Darius ; Prexaspes, son of Aspathines ; — Megabyzus, son of 
Megabates ; — Achsemenes, son of Darius. Ariabignes, son 
of Darius and of the daughter of Gobryas, commanded the 
ships of Ionia and of Caria ; while Achaemenes, the own 
brother of Xerxes, commanded the Egyptians. The other, 
two generals commanded the rest of the fleet. The trie- 
conters and the penteconters — the barges, and the long 
horse-transports, altogether amounted to three thousand. 
After the generals above-mentioned, the most celebrated 
of the captains were these : — Tetramnestus, son of Anysus, 
a Sidonian ; Mapen, son of Siromus, a Tyrian ; Merbal, 
son of.Agbal, an Aradian ; Syennesis, son of Oromedon, 
a Cilician ; Cyberniscus, son of Sicas, a Lycian ; Gorgos, 
son of Chersis, and Timonax, son of Timagoras, both 
Cyprians ; and of the Carians, Histiasus, sou of Tymnes ; 
Pigres, son of Seldomus ; and Damasithymus, son of 
Candaules. 

It does not seem necessary to record the names of the 
other general officers. Yet I must mention Artemisia, 
whom I admire as having— though a woman — joined this 
expedition against Greece. On the death of her hus- 
band she had held the sovereignty during the minority 
of her son : though under no compulsion, she had joined 
the army from an impulse of intrepidity and manly cour- 
age. This Artemisia was the daughter of Lygdamis, 
the Halicarnassian ; but on the mother's side, she was 
a Cretan. She commanded five ships, furnished by Ha- 
licarnassus, and Coos, and Nisyros, and Galydne ; and, 



ARTEMISIA. 515 

excepting only the Sidonian ships, these five were the 
best equipped of all the fleet ; and of all the associated 
generals, Artemisia offered to the king the best counsels. 
The people under her domination, and whom I have men- 
tioned just now, are, I pronounce, all Dorians ; for the 
Halicarnassians were from Troszen, and the others from 
Epidaurus. — So much then for the naval armament. 

When Xerxes had numbered and marshalled the host, 
he conceived the desire of inspecting the whole, by pass- 
ing through the ranks. This was effected, and, drawn 
in a chariot, he pervaded the array of each nation, arid 
in his progress asked questions, the answers to which 
were noted by his secretaries : thus he proceeded from 
the first to the last troops of both infantry and cavalry. 
When this review was [accomplished, the ships were all 
hauled to sea, and Xerxes descending from his chariot, 
went on board a Sidonian ship, and sitting beneath a 
golden canopy, sailed along in front of the prows of the 
vessels ; and as he had done on land, made inquiries and 
took notes. The captains of the ships had drawn them 
the distance of about four hundred feet from the beach, 
and there cast anchor, all in a line, with the prows 
towards the shore ; and all the men on board were armed 
as if for battle. Xerxes sailing between the prows and 
the shore, inspected the whole line. 

Having finished this review also, and landed from the 
ship, he sent for Demaratus, son of Ariston, who followed 
him in the army against Greece : him he called, and thus 
addressed — " Demaratus, it is my pleasure at this time 
to put to you some questions which I wish to be answered : 
— You are a Greek; and as I learn from yourself, as well 
as from other Greeks with whom I converse, are of a 
state which is not the least or the feeblest in Greece. 
Tell me then, will the Greeks dare to lift their hands 
against me? In my opinion, if all the Greeks and 
all the nations occupying the countries towards the 
(101) 2 l 2 



516 CONVERSATION BETWEEN 

west were collected together, they would not be com- 
petent to meet me in the field ; unless indeed they were 
united in purpose and counsels. Now I wish to be in- 
formed what you think on this subject." 

" King," replied Demaratus, " am I to say what is 
true, or what is agreeable 1" Xerxes commanded him to 
speak the truth, and assured him he should not, on that 
account, be less in his favour than heretofore. Thus en- 
couraged, Demaratus addressed the king as follows — 
" Since you enjoin me by all means to speak the truth, I 
will say that which — whoever may affirm it — you shall 
never find to have been erroneous. Poverty has always 
dwelt with the Greeks ; but virtue has been an acqui- 
sition procured by wisdom and the vigour of law. Then, 
by the aid of virtue, Greece has secured herself against 
both poverty and tyranny. I commend indeed all the 
Greeks inhabiting the Doric territory ; but leaving others, 
I will proceed to speak of the Lacedaemonians only, and 
I say in the first place, that there is no possibility of their 
listening to your propositions, which imply the slavery of 
Greece ; and then I affirm that they would oppose you 
in arms, even though all the other Greeks should go over 
to your interests. Nor do I care to ask how great their 
numbers are, that they should be able to act this part ; 
for were there only a thousand men bearing arms, they 
would give you battle ; and so would fewer — and so would 
more." 

Xerxes derided this speech, and thus replied — " De- 
maratus, what is it you have said? Would then a thou- 
sand men contend with an army like this? Come now, 
say you not that you were yourself king of these very 
men? Are you then willing on the spot to fight with 
ten men ? If indeed your polity is altogether such as you 
represent it to be, you, being the king of this community, it 
behoves you, in compliance with the customs of your coun- 
try, to engage with a double number : and if every one 

(103) 



XERXES AND DEMARATUS. 517 

of them is a match for ten of such as might be taken 
from my army, I demand of you to enter in conflict with 
twenty, and then you will give consistency to what you have 
affirmed. But if indeed these Lacedaemonians whom you 
vaunt so much, are nothing better in quality and stature 
than yourself, and those Greeks with whom I am accus- 
tomed to converse, take heed lest there be found no little 
empty boasting in all you have advanced ! Now make 
me understand, on reasonable grounds, how one thousand 
men, or even ten thousand, or fifty thousand, and though 
they were all absolutely free, as you talk, and not sub- 
jected to the domination of one man, could withstand so 
mighty a host as this. For if they were five thousand 
strong, even then we are more than a thousand to one. 
But if now, according to our institutions, they were placed 
under the control of an absolute master, then, inspired 
by dread of him, they would display a valour which na- 
ture has not given them ; and if soundly flogged, they 
might even advance, few as they are, against multitudes. 
But abandoned to liberty, they will do nothing of this 
sort. For my own part I think that, though equal in 
numbers, the Greeks would find it hard to contend with 
the Persians alone. Valour such as you speak of, which 
indeed is always rare, exists among us ; for there are 
Persians among my guards who will readily engage with 
Greeks — three to one, and whom you contemn only be- 
cause you have not put them to the proof." 

" O king," replied Demaratus, " from the first I felt 
assured that in adhering to the plain truth, I should not 
please you. But as you constrained me to say nothing 
but the simple truth, I have spoken of the Spartans such 
as they are. You well know what reason I have to hate 
them* — they, who besides depriving me of my paternal 
honours and dignities, have made me an exile and a 

* The sense absolutely requires a^ropywc to be read for eoropywg. 

(104) 2 l 3 



518 REPLY OF DEMARATUS. 

fugitive. On the contrary, your father received me, 
and gave me maintenance and a house: it is not then 
credible, that a man of common sense should thrust from 
him his benefactor ; — he will love him rather. — Far from 
professing myself competent to fight ten men, I would 
not contend with two, nor even with one — spontaneously. 
And yet were there necessity, or any sufficient motive to 
impel me, I would willingly fight with any one of those 
men who, as you say, are singly a match for three Greeks. 
And thus the Lacedaemonians in general are inferior to 
none in single combat ; but when combined they are the 
bravest of mankind. Free indeed they are, and yet not 
absolutely free ; for they have a master — The Law, 
whom they fear much more than your slaves fear you. 
Whatever that master commands, they will do, if nothing 
more, and it inflexibly forbids them ever to fly from the 
field, how numerous soever the enemy may be ; and it 
commands them to stand to their ranks until they conquer 
or perish. If in what I ha^e said, I shall be found to 
have mocked you, I consent never again to break silence. 
Even now I have only spoken under compulsion; — and 
may all your wishes, O king, be accomplished." 

Such was the reply of Demaratus : Xerxes only made 
a jest of it, and far from feeling any resentment, dis- 
missed him amicably. 



SECTION V. 

MARCH OF THE PERSIAN ARMY THROUGH THRACE 
AND MACEDONIA. 

While at Doriscus, Xerxes deposed the governor ap- 
pointed by Darius, and placed in his room Mascamcs, son 

(105) 



VALOUR OF BOGES. 519 

of Megadostes. Then he moved the army forwards 
through Thrace towards Greece. This JVtascames, whom 
he left at Doriscus, was the only one of all the governors 
appointed either by Darius or himself, to whom Xerxes 
was accustomed to send presents, professedly because he 
was the bravest of them all. These presents were sent 
yearly, and were even continued to his descendants by 
Artaxerxes, son of Xerxes. Before the time of this 
invasion, governors had been established throughout 
Thrace and the Hellespont : but after the defeat of the 
expedition, all of them were removed by the Greeks, 
excepting only Mascames, the governor of Doriscus, 
whom, though they made repeated attempts, they could 
by no means dislodge. On this account, gifts continued 
to be made to the family by the Persian kings. 

Of all the governors removed by the Greeks, only one 
was deemed by Xerxes to have behaved like a brave 
man. — This one was Boges, governor of Eion, whom he 
never ceased to applaud, and whose surviving children in 
Persia he distinguished by peculiar honours. In truth, 
Boges merited high commendation, for when besieged by 
the Athenians under Cimon, son of Miltiades, and when 
terms were offered to him which would have allowed him 
to leave the place and return to Asia, he would not yield 
lest the king should suppose he had saved his life through' 
fear ; but he defended the place to the last, and when 
no more provisions remained in the fort, he collected a 
great pile of combustibles — slew his children, his wife, 
his women, and his slaves, and threw the bodies into the 
fire. Then he took all the gold and silver that could be 
found in the city, and scattered it from the walls into the 
Strymon : — when this was done he cast himself into the 
fire. Justly then is Boges celebrated by the Persians, 
even to the present day. 

From Doriscus, Xerxes advanced towards Greece, and 
on his way compelled all he met with to fall into the 
(108) 2 l 4 



520 ADVANCE OF XERXES 

ranks of the army ; for as I have before said, he had re- 
duced to slavery the whole country as far as Thessaly, 
which was made tributary by the conquests, first of 
Megabyzus, and afterwards of Mardonius. On leaving 
Doriscus, he passed by the Samothracian towns, the last 
of which, towards the west, is Mesambria, near Stryme, 
a city of the Thasians : — the river Lissus flowing be- 
tween the two. This stream also failed to supply the 
wants 6f the Persian army. The district formerly was 
called Gallaica ; but now Briantica. To speak correctly, 
it belongs to the Ciconians. 

Passing the dried channel of the Lissus, the army 
moved near the Grecian cities — Maronea, Dicaea, and 
Abdera, and by those celebrated lakes — Ismaris, between 
Maronea and Stryme— and Bistonis, near Dicaea, into 
which the two rivers Travus and Compsatus empty them- 
selves. At Abdera there is not any lake of much note, 
but the river Nestus which flows into the sea was crossed 
by Xerxes. Continuing his march through these regions, 
he passed by the several maritime cities of the continent : 
in the neighbourhood of one of them there is a lake about 
thirty furlongs in circumference ; it abounds with fish, 
and is extremely brackish. Yet the sumpter beasts, 
which only drank of it, dried it up. The city near this 
lake is called Pistyrus. These maritime Grecian cities 
he passed, leaving them on the left hand. 

The Thracian tribes through whose lands Xerxes 
marched, are these : — The Paetians, the Ciconians, the 
Bistones, the Sapaeans, the Dersaeans, the Edonians, the 
Satres : all of whom, as they occupy the sea coast, joined 
the fleet in their ships. The Satres have never — so far 
a^ we know, owned subjection to any man; and they 
alone of all the Thracians have remained free to the pre- 
sent time ; for they inhabit lofty heights on every side 
covered with forests and snows : they are also warlike 
in (heir disposition. They have among them an oracle of 

(HI) 



TOWARDS GREECE. 521 

Bacchus, situated on the loftiest of the summits. The 
Bessians are the interpreters of the oracle among the 
Satres, which are delivered by a priestess, as at Delphi ; 
nor are the responses more artfully ambiguous than those. 

After traversing this region, he next passed the towns 
of the Pieriaus, one of which is named Phagra, and the 
other Pergamus ; for the road runs near both those places. 
Leaving on the right hand the great and lofty mountain 
Pangseus, which contains mines of gold and silver, worked 
by the Pierians, the Odomantians, and especially by the 
Satres. Proceeding still westward, the army traversed 
Paeonia, and passed the Doberes and Pseoples, who dwell 
northward of Mount Pangseus, until they reached the 
banks of the Strymon, and the city Eion, of which Boges, 
of whom I have already spoken, was then governor. 
The country around Pangseus is called Phyllis, and ex- 
tends westward as far as the river Angitas, and south- 
ward reaches to the Strymon. Here the Mages sacri- 
ficed some white horses, and obtained auspicious omens. 
After the performance of various rites of divination, 
addressed to the river, the host marched through what are 
called the Nine ways of the Edonians, by the bridges which 
they found already constructed over the Strymon. The 
Persians hearing that the district was called the Nine 
ways, buried alive in it nine boys and nine girls, the chil- 
dren of the inhabitants ; for it is a Persian custom to bury 
the living ; and thus, as I have been informed, Amestris, 
the wife of Xerxes, when advanced in years, buried alive 
fourteen youths taken from the most illustrious Persian 
families, in order to gratify the god who is said to be under 
ground. 

The army having crossed the Strymon, passed a Greek 
city called Argilus, situated on the coast towards the west. 
This district, and the country above it, is called Bisaltia : 
thence, having on the left hand the gulph on which stands 
the temple of Neptune, it marched through the plain of 
(115) 



522 COSTLY ENTERTAINMENTS 

Syle, passing by the Greek city Stagirus, and arrived at 
Acanthus; and as it advanced, it drew along with it, 
as I have already said, all the tribes in its way, and even 
the inhabitants of Pangaeus — the maritime people joining 
the fleet, while those further from the sea followed the 
army. The tract along which king Xerxes led his army 
is not to this day disturbed or cultivated by the Thra- 
cians, who regard it with great veneration. When the 
Persian arrived at Acanthus, he offered his friendship 
to the citizens — presented them with Median vestments, 
and seeing their readiness to give their aid in the war, 
and hearing that the canal {at Athos) was finished, he 
applauded them. 

While he continued at this place, it happened that 
Artachaees, director of the canal, died of some disease ; 
he was a man in high esteem with Xerxes ; of the 
Achaeminidean family, and the tallest Persian of his 
times, for he wanted only a hand's breadth of being five 
royal cubits in height. His voice also was of extra- 
ordinary power. Xerxes, deeply afflicted by his death, 
caused him to be buried with the utmost magnificence : 
the whole army was employed in raising a tumulus over 
him. To this Artachaees, the Acanthians, on the admo- 
nition of an oracle, perform sacrifices as to a hero, and 
invoke him by name. The king regarded the loss of this 
personage as a calamity. 

Those Greeks who received the army into their ter- 
ritory, and who had to provide a feast for Xerxes, were 
reduced to such extreme misery, that they were obliged 
to abandon their homes. The Thasians being required, 
on account of the cities they held on the continent, to 
receive the army, and to give the supper, Antipater, son 
of Orges, one of the most distinguished citizens, who was 
chosen to discharge this duty, declared that four hundred 
talents of silver had been expended upon the single repast. 
Much the same took place in the other cities, as appeared 

(118) 



PROVIDED FOR THE KING. 523 

from the accounts rendered by those who presided. This 
supper was so much the more magnificent because it had 
been bespoke a long time before hand, and was a matter 
of the highest consequence to the interests of those who 
prepared rt. Instantly, when the heralds who were sent 
in all directions, had informed a city of what was ex- 
pected from them, some of the citizens divided among 
themselves the corn, which they employed themselves, 
during many .months, in grinding into flour, whether of 
wheat or barley ; while others fattened cattle — the fairest 
that could be found, and reared land birds in cages, and 
water fowl in ponds, to be in readiness for the army. 
Others again manufactured vessels of gold and silver, 
and vases, and other articles of all kinds, required for the 
table. These preparations were made for the king only, 
and his table companions. As to the rest of the army, 
provisions only were required to be furnished for them. 
When the army approached any place where it was to 
stop, a pavilion was erected, and held in readiness, in 
which Xerxes was to lodge. The rest of the army slept 
abroad. At the hour of supper, those who received the 
guests underwent no small labour, while they, after 
gorging themselves, passed the night in the pavilion, and 
the next day tearing it down, and seizing all its furniture, 
went off ; nor was an article left which they did not carry 
away. 

Well spoke Megacreon of Abdera on this occasion : he 
first advised the people of that city " to present themselves 
in a body with their wives before the gods, as suppliants, 
and to entreat a like remission of one half of any evils 
that might impend over them. And for what was 
passed, heartily to thank the gods that it was not the 
eustom of king Xerxes to take two meals in the same 
day. For had it been the fate of the people of Abdera 
to provide a dinner as well as a supper, they must either 
have fled before his approach ; or, if they had remained, 
(120) 



524 PROGRESS OF THE FLEET, 

must have suffered a ruin beyond example." These 
people, though grievously burdened, acquitted themselves 
of the part imposed on them. 

Xerxes dismissed the fleet at Acanthus, enjoining the 
commanders to await his coming at Thema, a city of the 
Thermian gulph, to which indeed it gives its name : for he 
had been informed that the shortest course lay through 
that city. From Doriscus to Acanthus the army had 
marched in three divisions ; the first, under the command 
of Mardonius and Masistes, proceeded along the coast, 
attended by the fleet. The second was despatched under 
Tritantsechmes and Gergis, through the inland districts; 
while the third division, with Xerxes himself, marched 
between the two, under the command of Smerdomenes 
and Megabyzus. 

The fleet when dismissed by Xerxes, passed through 
the canal at Mount Athos, into the gulph on the shores 
of which stand the cities Assa, Pilorus, Singus and 
Sarta. Thence, after taking on board the military force 
of those places, the fleet proceeded towards the Ther- 
maic gulph — doubling the promontory of Ampelus, at the 
head of the gulph of Torone, and in passing the Greek 
cities Torona, Galepsus, Sermyla, Mecyberna, and Olyn- 
thus, of the territory now named Sithonia, took both men 
and ships. The Persian fleet then struck across from 
the promontory of Ampelus, to that of Canastraeus, the 
most prominent point of the coast of Pallene, where they 
took men and ships from Potideea, Aphytis, Neapolis, 
iEga, Therambus, Scione, Menda, and Sana — cities 
of the territory once called Phlegra, now Pallene. 
Coasting this country, they proceeded to the appointed 
station, on their way levying men from all the neigh- 
bouring cities of Pallene, which border on the Thermaic 
gulph: the names of these cities are as follows, Lipaxus, 
Combria, Lisse, Gigonus, Campsa, Smila, and iEnia : 
the country occupied by these towns is to the present 

(123) 



AND OF THE ARMY. 525 

time called Crosssea. From iEnia, the last named of 
these places, the fleet sailed directly into the Thermaic 
gulph, and touched upon the coast of Mygdonia. Still 
moving on, it reached Therma, the place of its desti- 
nation, and Sindus, and Chalestra, on the river Axius, 
which divides Mygdonia from Bottiseis, on the narrow 
maritime district of which, stand the cities Ichnae and 
Pella. 

The fleet having reached its destination, awaited the 
arrival of the king, and meanwhile formed a naval camp 
on the banks of the Axius, and at Therma, and at the 
intermediate cities. Xerxes, with the army, proceeded 
by a short course over-land from Acanthus to Therma, 
and passed through the Paeonian and Crestonian terri- 
tories, to the river Echidorus, which rising in the latter, 
runs through Mygdonia, and discharges itself into the 
marsh above the Axius. While marching through this 
country, the army was beset by lions, which attacked the 
camels employed in carrying provisions. These lions 
leaving their haunts at night, approached the camp, but 
seized nothing, either man or beast, excepting only the 
camels. One cannot but wonder why the lions should 
refrain from all other animals, and attack the camel — an 
animal they had never before seen or tasted. That 
region abounds not only with lions, but with Wild bulls, 
the horns of which being of extraordinary size, are 
brought into Greece. The river Nestus, which flows 
near Abdera, and the river Achelous, which runs through 
Acarnania, are the boundaries within which the lions are 
found; no animal of that species being seen in Europe 
eastward of the Nestus, or any where throughout that 
continent westward of the Achelous ; but between these 
rivers they are produced. 

When Xerxes reached Therma, he encamped the 
army. This encampment occupied all the maritime 
district from Therma and Mygdonia, as far as the rivers 
(127) 



520 THE VISIT OF XERXES 

Lydias and Haliacmon, which uniting their waters in the 
same channel, divide Bottiaeis from Macedonia. Upon 
these lands then it was, that the Barbarians pitched their 
camp. And of all the rivers above-mentioned, the Echi- 
dorus alone, which rises in Crestonia, was not exhausted 
by the army. 

Xerxes discerning from Therm a the mountains of 
Thessaly — that is to say, Olympus and Ossa, which are 
of vast altitude, and learning that they were separated 
by a narrow defile through which runs the river Peneus, 
and that at that spot was the road into Thessaly, con- 
ceived the wish to sail to the mouth of the Peneus, that 
he might examine the exit of the river. — He was about to 
lead the army that way, being informed that it was the 
most secure ; passing over the Macedonian highlands, it 
traverses the country of the Perrhaebians, and leads near 
the city Gonnus. His wish was no sooner formed than 
put in execution : going on board a Sidonian vessel — the 
same which he had used on every occasion of this kind, 
he, at the same time, gave signal for the fleet to weigh, 
and left the army to follow him. When he reached the 
place, and had inspected the exit of Peneus, Xerxes 
seemed struck with admiration, and calling his guides, 
inquired if the river were capable of being turned from 
its channel, and made to enter the sea at any other 
point. The tradition received among the Thessalians is 
that, anciently, their country was a lake, shut in on all 
sides by its lofty mountains : — towards the east by Pelion 
and Ossa, the bases of which were united : — towards the 
north by Olympus ; towards the west by Pindus ; and 
towards the south by Othrys. Thessaly is in fact a 
cavity, occupying the space between the above-mentioned 
mountains. It is watered by many rivers, of which the 
five following are the most noted — the Peneus, the Api- 
danus, the Onochonus, 'the Enipeus, and the Pamisus ; 
all which descending into the plain of Thessaly from the 

(129) 



TO THE COAST OF THESSALY. 527 

surrounding mountains, meet together and mingle their 
waters, and obtain their discharge into the sea by a single 
channel, and that a very narrow one. When these rivers 
meet, they severally lose their names, and that of the 
most noted — the Peneus, prevails. Now according to 
the ancient tradition, the pass and exit (between Olympus 
and Ossd) did not formerly exist, and yet the rivers above- 
mentioned, as well as the lake Bosbeiis, though not 
then known, as now, by name, actually flowed, as at 
present, into the plain, and formed an expanse of water, 
covering the whole of Thessaly. The Thessalians them- 
selves affirm — and I think with great reason, that Nep- 
tune made the aperture through which the Peneus flows ; 
for whoever is of opinion that it is Neptune who shakes 
the earth, and that the rents occasioned by earthquakes 
are the work of that god, will, on examining the fissure 
of which we are speaking, allow that Neptune formed 
it ; for the parting of the mountains is, as it seems to me 
evidently, the work of an earthquake. 

Xerxes, as I have said, inquired of the guides, if there 
were any other {practicable) exit for the Peneus ; and 
they, knowing perfectly the country, replied : — " Sire, 
this river can discharge itself into the sea by no other 
channel but this ; for Thessaly is entirely encircled by 
mountains." Upon which Xerxes is reported to have 
said : — " The Thessalians then are prudent men. Con- 
scious of their inability to defend themselves against 
me, they have in good time taken the precaution of sub- 
mitting ; for besides other reasons, they know that the 
country they inhabit is one very easily and very quickly 
reduced. Nothing more would be necessary than by 
raising a dyke across the fissure through which the river 
flows, to turn the stream from its course upon their lands ; 
and all Thessaly, excepting the mountain districts, would 
be inundated." The allusion of Xerxes was to the 
descendants -of the Aleuads of Thessaly, who first of all 
(130) 



528 RETURN OF THE HERALDS. 

the Greeks surrendered themselves to the king, and, as he 
supposed, they did so on behalf of the nation at large. 
After finishing this inspection, Xerxes returned toTherma. 

Xerxes remained several days in Pieria, while one of 
the three divisions of the army was employed in clearing 
the forests on the Macedonian hills, over which the entire 
host was to pass into the territory of the Perrhsebians. 
While there, the heralds who had been despatched into 
Greece, to demand earth, returned — some empty-handed, 
others bearing earth and water. Those Greeks who had 
offered the gifts were the Thessalians, the Dolopes, the 
iEnians, the Perrhasbians, the Locrians, the Magne- 
tians, the Malians, the Achaeans of Pthiotis, the Thebans, 
and indeed all the Boeotians, except the Thespians and 
the Plataeans. Against these, the Greeks who engaged 
in the war with the Barbarian, bound themselves by an 
oath, in the following terms : — " From all those Greeks 
who, without compulsion, have surrendered themselves to 
the Persian, we — when our affairs are restored to good 
order — will exact a tythe, to be dedicated to the Delphic 
god." 

Neither to Athens nor to Sparta did the Persian send 
heralds to demand the tokens of submission ; for when, on 
a former occasion, Darius had sent messengers there on 
the same errand, the Athenians had cast them into the 
Barathron ;* and the Spartans had thrown them into a 
well, commanding them to take earth and water thence, 
to carry to the king. On this account therefore Xerxes 
refrained from sending to either of those cities. What 
calamities befel the Athenians, in consequence of their 
treatment of these heralds, I cannot say, except we should 
mention the pillaging of their lands and city : yet it does 
not seem to me that this was actually the cause of those 
misfortunes. 

* A pit at Athens, into which criminals were thrown. 



SPERTHIES AND BULIS. 529 

Upon the Lacedaemonians (on this account) alighted the 
wrath of Talthybius, the herald of Agamemnon, to whom 
a temple is dedicated at Sparta, and whose descendants, 
called Talthybiads, still remain there. It is the privilege 
of these persons to discharge the function of heralds at 
Sparta on every occasion. But after the murder of the 
Persian heralds, the Spartans were no longer able to 
obtain auspicious indications from the sacrifices : this 
continued during a long time. The Lacedaemonians, 
afflicted and unprosperous, convoked frequent assemblies 
of the people, in which proclamation was made to inquire, 
" If any Lacedaemonian were willing to die for Sparta?" 
At length Sperthies, son of Aneristus, and Bulis, son of 
Nicolaus — both Spartans, and men nobly born, and emi- 
nently wealthy, offered themselves as willing to forfeit 
their lives to Xerxes, as an expiation of the murder of 
the heralds of Darius at Sparta. These persons were 
therefore despatched, as for death, to the Medes. 

The intrepidity of these men, and their expressions on 
the occasion, were indeed worthy of admiration. On their 
way to Susa, they presented themselves to Hydarnes, a 
Persian, and the commander of the maritime provinces of 
Asia, who entertained them hospitably, and took occasion 
thus to address them : — " Lacedaemonians, why do you 
avoid the friendship of the king? You may see, while 
you look upon me, and upon my establishment, how he 
honours brave men. And thus too would he honour you, 
would you but surrender yourselves to him. Valiant as 
you are, he would gratify you by bestowing upon each a 
government in Greece." " Hydarnes," replied the Spar- 
tans, " the advice you give cannot affect us as it might 
you ; — you recommend what you have yourself tried, 
but you know nothing of the alternative. What it is to 
be a slave, you know ; but as to liberty, whether it be a 
sweet or not, you are ignorant. Had you actually made 
(135) 2 m 



530 SPERTHIES AND BULIS. 

proof of it, you would have counselled us to fight for it, 
not with spears only, but with hatchets.*" Thus was Hy- 
darnes answered. 

When these Spartans arrived at Susa, and were brought 
before the king, the guards commanded them to fall to 
the ground and worship him ; and even used compulsion ; 
but they utterly refused to do so, even though forced 
down upon their heads. " It is not," said they, " our 
custom to worship a man ; nor for this purpose came we 
hither." After resisting this requirement, they addressed 
Xerxes in some such terms as the following : — " King of 
the Medes, the Lacedaemonians sent us to suffer as a 
retaliation for the death of the heralds who perished at 
Sparta." To this speech Xerxes magnanimously replied, 
" that he should not follow the example of the Lacedae- 
monians who, in violation of the customs of all nations, 
had put heralds to death ; nor himself do what he blamed 
in them ; much less would he, by killing them in revenge, 
release the Lacedaemonians from the guilt they had 
incurred." 

[The wrath of Talthybius was however, for the moment, 
allayed by the act of the Spartans, although in fact Sperthies 
and Bulis returned to Sparta. Nevertheless, some time 
afterwards it was again awakened, as the Lacedaemonians 
themselves affirm, during the war between the Peloponnesians 
and Athenians. — And to me there appears a divine inter- 
ference (or, no divine interference) in what happened.! For 
that the wrath of Talthybius should alight upon the messen- 
gers, and not cease till it was accomplished, was just. But 

* " De coinbattre de toutes nos forces pour sa defense." Larcher. 
Why this cold paraphrase of a spirited figure ? Beloe follows Larcher. 

t The sense seems at first sight to require a negative in this and a fol- 
lowing sentence. Larcher and others suppose the negation to have 
fallen from the passage, and render it accordingly. I think the meaning 
of Herodotus intelligible without such a supposition. 

(137) 



MEASURES OF THE GREEKS. 531 

that it should fall upon the sons of those persons who went 
to the king to appease that wrath — I mean upon Nicolaus, 
the son of Bulis, and upon Aneristus, the son of Sperthies, who 
seized the Tirynthian fishermen whom he found sailing round 
Peloponnesus in a transport filled with men — clearly proves 
(or, does not prove) to me that the wrath fell upon them under 
a divine direction. For it happened that when sent by the 
Lacedaemonians to Asia, they were betrayed by Sitalces, son of 
Tereus,king of Thrace, and by Nymphodorus, son of Pythius — 
a citizen of Abdera, who captured them near Bisantha, in the 
Hellespont, and conducted them to Attica, where they were 
put to death by the Athenians, and with them Aristeas, son of 
Adimantus, a Corinthian. But these events happened many 
years after the expedition of Xerxes.] 



SECTION VI. 

RESPONSES OF THE PYTHIAN. MEASURES OF THE 
GREEKS. 

I resume the course of my history. The expedition of 
Xerxes was professedly undertaken against Athens ; but 
in fact was directed against all Greece. The Greeks, 
though all well informed of what they had to expect long- 
beforehand, did not all await its arrival with the same 
feelings ; for some of them having given earth and water 
to the king, confided in their submission, and believed 
they had nothing to suffer from him ; while others, who 
had not presented the gifts, were in the utmost conster- 
nation ; for all the ships belonging to the Greeks together 
did not amount to a number that could oppose the invader ; 
and in fact very many of the states, far from being willing 
(138) 2 m 2 • 



532 OPINION OF HERODOTUS. 

to engage in the war, were eager to take part with the 
Medes. 

And now I feel compelled to express an opinion which, 
though it will be thought invidious by most men, I shall 
not withhold — convinced as I am of its truth. If the 
Athenians, terrified by the approaching danger, had 
either abandoned their country, or, though not leaving it, 
had surrendered themselves to Xerxes, no force whatever 
would have been opposed to him by sea. And if Xerxes 
had met no enemy on the seas, then we may know what 
must have happened on land. For although the Pelo- 
ponnesians had raised at the isthmus never so many ranges 
of walls, the Lacedaemonians would not the less have 
been deserted by their allies ; — not perhaps willingly, but 
from necessity, imposed on them by the fleet of the Bar- 
barian, which would have captured city after city along 
the coast. Thus deserted, they might indeed have 
achieved feats of valour, and have died nobly ; or they 
might have submitted to the same fate as others ; or at 
an earlier period — seeing the other Greeks go over to 
the Medes — they might perhaps have secured the benefit 
of a treaty with Xerxes. But in either case, Greece 
must have become subject to the Persians. What ad- 
vantage could have been secured by the walls raised 
across the isthmus, I have never been able to learn ; 
since Xerxes would have been master of the sea. He 
therefore who may affirm that the Athenians were the 
preservers of Greece, will not err from the truth ; for to 
whichsoever side they had gone over, that side must have 
preponderated. But in determining for the liberty of 
Greece, they quickened the courage of all those states 
that had not already taken part with the enemy ; and in 
fact it was they, next to the gods, who repulsed the 
king. Nor did even the responses of the oracle, brought 
from Delphi, fearful as they were, and such as must 
inspire terror, prevail with them to abandon Greece. On 

(139) 



RESPONSE OF THE PYTHIAN, 533 

* the contrary they stood their ground, and endured the 
attack of the invader. 

The Athenians wishing to consult the oracle, had sent 
deputies, who after performing the customary rites, 
entered the temple, and seating themselves as suppliants, 
received an answer from the Pythian— whose name was 
Aristonica ; it was as follows : — * 

" Infatuated men ! why sit* you here? Fly to the 
ends of the earth, leaving your homes, and the sharp 
summits of your circling city. Nor shall the head remain 
unmoved, nor the body, nor the lowest feet, nor shall the 
hands, nor the middle be left ; but shall turn to unenvied 
ruin. Fire and keen Mars, driving a Syrian car, shall 
ruin all. And many other towers also, in like manner 
as yours, shall he destroy. And many temples of the 
Immortals shall he give to the consuming fire : even now, 
quaking with dread, they stand ; and flow with sweat ; 
and from their highest roofs black blood is shed, in pre- 
sage of inevitable woe. But get you hence from the 
sanctuary, and let your heart be conversant with ills." 

The Athenian deputies on hearing this response were 
affected with the deepest sorrow : while abandoned to 
despondency under the woe announced to them, they were 
advised by Timon, son of Androbulus, a Delphian of high 
repute, to take the olive branch and again to consult the 
oracle as suppliants. Yielding to this advice, the Athe- 
nians thus spoke : — " O Supreme ! impart to us something 
more favourable concerning our country; nor contemn 
these olive branches which we bear in our hands before 
thee. Or if not, we refuse to depart from this sanctuary ; 
but here it will be for us to remain until we die." When 
they had thus spoken, the priestess again addressed them 
in the following terms : — 

* There is so much historical significance in this and the succeeding 
response, that the reader will prefer the exactness of a prose translation 
to any metrical version that could be given. 

(141) 2 m 3 



534 PERPLEXITIES OF 

" Pallas is unable to propitiate Olympian Jove, though 
she has besought him with many words, and profoundest 
skill. I repeat to you therefore the same response, in- 
flexible as adamant. Yet when all shall be captured 
within the Cecropian limits, and the recesses of the 
sacred Cithaeron, the wide-seeing Jupiter gives to Minerva 
a wooden fort, which alone shall be impregnable ; and 
that shall preserve you and your children. Wait not 
quietly the approach of horse and foot — the numerous 
host that advances from the continent. But turn the 
back, and leave your land. Yet the day shall come when 
you will face the enemy.* O divine Salamis ! thou shalt 
destroyf- the sons of women, whether Ceres be still abroad 
or housed." 

This response seemed to the deputies, as indeed it was, 
of milder import than the first. They therefore wrote it 
down, and departed for Athens. On their arrival, they 
announced it to the assembly of the people. In exploring 
the sense of the oracle, many and various opinions were 
advanced. The two which most prevailed were these. 
Some of the elders supposed that the god had foretold 
that the Acropolis should be preserved ; for anciently the 
Acropolis of Athens was fenced about by a palisade: 
they therefore thought this fence was intended by the 
" wooden fort." On the other hand, some believed that 
the god by this phrase signified the fleet, and commanded 
them to equip their ships, and to abandon all besides. 
But those who affirmed that by the wooden fort was 
meant the fleet, were perplexed by the concluding verses, 
uttered by the Pythian—" O divine Salamis ! thou shalt 
destroy the sons of women, whether Ceres be still abroad 

tri rot kotz KqvTtoc, tvcry has been variously rendered. Mitford 
says, " even though they be close upon you." Larcher gives good rea- 
sons for understanding the phrase in an opposite sense, 
t airoXeie — cause to perish — not lose. 

(142) 



THE ATHENIANS. 535 

or housed," which words held in suspense the minds of 
those who thought the fleet was the wooden fort. For 
the deputies took the words in this sense, as intending 
that if they engaged the enemy at sea, they should suffer 
a defeat off Salamis. 

There was then among the Athenians a man who had 
very lately risen to eminence in the state. This was 
Themistocles, commonly known by the appellation — Son 
of Neocles. He maintained that the interpreters had not 
rightly understood the terms of the oracle : " If," said 
he, " the phrase had related to the Athenians, the terms 
employed would not, it is probable, have been so kindly. 
But instead of — " O divine Salamis," the Pythian had 
said — " O wretched Salamis" — if the inhabitants of the 
surrounding regions were destined there to perish. He 
therefore who rightly considers the oracle, will understand 
the god as predicting the ruin, not of the Athenians, but 
of the enemy." Themistocles therefore counselled the 
people to make preparations for defending themselves by 
sea — the fleet being in truth " the wooden fort." The 
Athenians decided that the opinion of Themistocles was 
preferable to that of the interpreters, who dissuaded 
from preparing to engage the enemy by sea, or indeed to 
make any kind of resistance, and advised that they should 
abandon Attica, and seek some other abode. 

Themistocles had on a former occasion proposed a mea- 
sure which, in this season, proved highly advantageous. 
At a time when the public treasure of the Athenians had 
been greatly augmented by the proceeds of the Laurian 
mines, a distribution was about to be made through all 
ranks, which would have given ten drachms to each 
citizen. Then it was that Themistocles persuaded the 
Athenians to , abstain .from the proposed distribution, and 
to construct two hundred ships with their accumulated 
treasure, to serve in the war — meaning the war then 
carrying on with the iEginetans. That war occasioned 
(144) 2 m 4 



536 DESPATCH OF EMBASSIES. 

the preservation of Greece ; for it compelled the Athe- 
nians to become a maritime people. These ships were 
not actually employed for the purpose intended, and thus 
served the cause of Greece in the time of need. They 
were now therefore at the disposal of the Athenians, and 
it was only necessary to add some to the number. It was 
resolved, in a council held after the response of the oracle 
had been received, that the whole Athenian people, with 
such other Greeks as were of the same mind, should, in 
obedience to the advice of the god, meet the Barbarian 
who was invading Greece, at sea. Such were the oracles 
given to the Athenians. 

All those of the Greeks who took the better part for 
their country were now convoked, and after exchanging 
assurances of fidelity to the common cause, it was re- 
solved deliberately, that before any other affairs were 
attended to, all existing differences should be reconciled, 
and an end put to the wars then raging between several 
of the states ; of which the chief was that between Athens 
and iEgina. In the next place, being informed that 
Xerxes with his army was already at Sardis, they re- 
solved to send spies into Asia, to watch the king's move- 
ments. Then it was determined to send ambassadors to 
Argos, to conclude an alliance against the Persian, and 
again others to Sicily — to Gelon, son of Dinomenes ; and 
others to Corcyra, enjoining the people of that island to 
succour Greece ; and others to Crete. For their inten- 
tion was, if possible, to combine the general body of 
Greeks, and so to bend the efforts of all towards the 
same object, since the extremest danger impended alike 
over all. The power of Gelon was reported to be very 
great, and indeed to surpass that of any Greek state. 

These resolutions having been adopted, and all animosi- 
ties being laid aside, the first step taken was to send three 
men as spies into Asia. When these persons reached 
Sardis, it became known that they were making them- 

(146) 



BEHAVIOUR OF XERXES. 537 

selves acquainted with the extent of the royal army. 
They were therefore seized by the commanders of the 
infantry, and after being examined by torture, were, in 
pursuance of the sentence passed upon them, about to be 
led to execution. But Xerxes, hearing what was taking 
place, blamed the commanders for the course they had 
taken, and sent some of his guards with an order to bring 
the men before him, if they should find them still living. 
The guards finding them still surviving, took thenar away, 
and brought them into the royal presence. The king after 
inquiring their business, commanded the guards to lead 
them around, and shew them the whole army, both in- 
fantry and cavalry, and when satiated with the spectacle, 
to send them in safety wherever they wished to go. In 
giving these directions, he said : — " If these spies had 
perished, the Greeks would not have become informed of 
the greatness of his preparations, which exceeded common 
report ; while in putting three men to death, a very 
inconsiderable injury would have been inflicted on the 
enemy. On the other hand," said he, " when these 
men return to Greece, they will spread such reports of 
the vastness of my armament, that the Greeks, without 
waiting its arrival, will themselves resign their liberties, 
so that there will be no occasion to prosecute the war 
against them, and our labour will be spared." 

This expectation of Xerxes resembles another enter- 
tained by him. While at Abydos he perceived some 
store ships, passing the Hellespont from the Euxine, and 
carrying provisions to iEgina and Peloponnesus. Those 
around him being informed that the vessels belonged 
to the enemy, were ready to seize them, and fixing their 
eyes on the king, awaited his commands. But Xerxes 
having inquired their destination, was answered " Sire, 
they are conveying provisions to your enemies !" To which 
he replied, " And are not we proceeding there too, and 
we also charged, among other things, with provisions? 
(147) 



538 CONDUCT OF THE 

What injury then are they doing us in carrying corn for 
us ?" — The spies having in the manner above related, 
inspected the army, and being dismissed, returned to 
Europe. 



SECTION VII. 

EMBASSIES TO ARGOS, SICILY, AND CORCYRA. 

The Greeks confederate against the Persian, after 
sending the spies, despatched their ambassadors to Argos. 
The Argives give the following account of these trans- 
actions, so far as themselves were concerned. They say 
that they had information from the very commencement 
of the intentions of the Barbarian upon Greece. Having 
received this information, and learning also that the 
Greeks would endeavour to engage them to join in op- 
posing the Persian, they despatched a deputation to 
Delphi, to inquire of the god — " What course it would be 
best for them to adopt ; for very recently, six thousand 
of their citizens had been put to the sword by the Lace- 
daemonians, under Cleomenes, son of Anaxandrides." 
Such was the occasion of their sending. The Pythian 
replied to their inquiries in the following terms — 

" Nation, by neighbours scorned — by gods beloved ! 
Hold in your dart, and keep your watch unmoved. 
Argives, beware ! Preserve the head from ill : 
The head, the body keeps from dangers still." 

Such was the answer they had received before ; and 
when the ambassadors arrived at Argos, they were in- 
troduced to the council, where they delivered their in- 

(148) 



ARGIVES. 539 

structions, to which the Argives replied that — " they 
were willing to afford the aid required, on condition that 
a truce of thirty years should be agreed to by the Lace- 
daemonians, and that they should share equally with them 
the command of the allied forces, which was all they 
intended to claim, although in strict justice the undivided 
command was their right." 

Such, say they, was the answer given by the council, 
although the oracle had forbidden their entering into an 
alliance with the Greeks. But though, fearing the 
oracle, they desired a truce of thirty years, to gain time 
in which their sons might attain manhood. Without 
this truce they feared that if, in addition to the losses 
they had already sustained in the late war, they should 
suffer a further reduction of their forces from the Persian, 
they must ever after submit to the Lacedaemonians. The 
Spartans who were included in the embassy, replied to 
the council in the following terms — " As to the truce, it 
should be referred to the people. As to the command of 
the forces, we are instructed to answer, that as the Spar- 
tans have two kings, and the Argives only one, it was 
impracticable to grant a condition which would deprive 
one of their own kings of his command ; but nothing pre- 
vented the king of Argos from sharing authority with the 
two." Thus it happened, as the Argives affirm, that not 
being able to endure the encroaching spirit of the Spar- 
tans, they chose rather to submit to the Barbarian, than 
to yield an inch to the Lacedaemonians. They therefore 
warned the ambassadors to quit the Argian territory 
before sun-set, or they would be treated as enemies. 

[Such is the account given by the Argives ; but a different 
story i^ current throughout Greece. — It is said that Xerxes, 
before he commenced his expedition against Greece, sent a 
herald to Argos, with a message to this effect — " Argives, 
Xerxes the king thus addresses you : — we hold the opinion 
(150) 



540 CONDUCT OF THE ARGIVES. 

that Perses, our ancestor, was the son of Perses, son of 
Danae, and of Andromeda, daughter of Cephes. We there- 
fore, if this opinion be right, are your descendants. And we 
cannot think it proper, either for us to make war upon our 
progenitors, or for you, by taking part with the other Greeks, 
to become our enemies. Remain then tranquilly at home. 
And if this enterprize succeeds to my wish, there are no 
people I will treat with greater regard." The Argives con- 
sidered this message as a matter of importance, and abstained 
from making any application to the Greeks ; but when called 
upon by them, they demanded an equal share in the command 
of the forces, well knowing that the Lacedaemonians would 
not yield it, and so they should have a pretext for remaining 
neuter. 

Some Greeks relate a story which agrees well with this, 
though the events referred to took place many years after the 
time of which we are speaking. It happened that the Athe- 
nians sent, on some affairs, Callias, son of Hipponicus, with 
others to Susa, the city of, Memnon; at the same time there 
arrived messengers despatched by the Argives, to ask Ar- 
taxerxes, son of Xerxes — " Whether the friendship formed 
with them by Xerxes still endured, or whether he regarded 
them as enemies. To this inquiry, Artaxerxes the king re- 
plied — " Most certainly it remains, nor is there any city more 
dear to me than Argos." 

Whether in truth Xerxes had sent any such message to 
Argos, or whether actually the Argives despatched their am- 
bassadors to Susa, to inquire of Artaxerxes concerning the 
friendship, I am not able positively to determine. Nor shall 
I advance any opinion on the subject, but simply relate what 
the Argives affirm. Yet this much I know, that if all men 
were to bring their domestic disgraces together, with the 
intention of changing them for those of their neighbours, all, 
after narrowly inspecting the others, would gladly take away 
what they severally brought. Thus perhaps the conduct of 
the Argives was not more shameful than that of some others. 
I think myself obliged to report what is affirmed by others ; 
but by no means am I bound to believe what every one says. 

(152) 



HISTORY OF GELON. 541 

Let this profession be kept in mind throughout the whole of 
my history. And particularly when I report the assertion 
that it was the Argives who invited the Persian into Greece, 
because that having been defeated by the Lacedaemonians, they 
thought any condition would be preferable to the misery to 
which they were reduced. So much for the Argives.] 

Other ambassadors — -sent out by the confederates, 
arrived in Sicily, to confer with Gelon. Among them 
was Syagrus from LacedEemon. 

[The progenitor of this Gelon was an inhabitant of Gela, 
who came from Telos, an island off the promontory of Trio- 
pium. When the Lindians of Rhodes, under Antiphemus, 
founded a colony at Gela, he was associated with them. In 
process of time his descendants became priests (expounders) 
to the infernal deities (Ceres and Proserpine) and continued to 
discharge that function. Telines, one of their ancestors, ob- 
tained the dignity in the following manner — Certain citizens 
of Gela, who had excited a sedition, took refuge at Mactorium, 
a city of the higher country. These refugees were brought 
back by Telines, without the aid of any military force ; and 
only by means of the sacred symbols of the two divinities : 
but whence he took them, or how he possessed them, I am 
unable to say. Yet certain it is that, confiding alone in their 
efficacy, he actually brought back the fugitives, and obtained 
the condition that his descendants should be the priests of the 
divinities. The achievement of Telines, such as I have heard 
it described, excites my admiration — actions of this sort are 
not to be performed by every man ; but belong to magna- 
nimous spirits, filled with manly force. And yet among the 
Sicilians, it is affirmed that his character was the very reverse 
of this, and that he was a man by nature effeminate and 
delicate. It was notwithstanding thus that he obtained the 
dignity. 

Oleander, son of Pantares, who had governed Gela seven 
years, came to his end by the hand of Sabyllus — a citizen of 
(154) 



542 HISTORY OF GELON. 

that place, and was succeeded in the sovereign power by his 
brother Hippocrates. During the reign of Hippocrates, 
Gelon, a descendant of Telines, the priest, was included in 
the number of the tyrant's guards : among these also was 
iEnesidemus. son of Pataicus. Within a very short time 
Gelon, by his bravery, raised himself to the command of all 
the cavalry, and obtained a high reputation in the attacks 
made by Hippocrates upon the Callipolitans, the Naxians, 
the Zanclaeans, and the Leontinians, as well as the Syra- 
cusans, and many barbarian nations. Of the cities I have 
named, one only — Syracuse — escaped servitude under Hip- 
pocrates. But the Syracusans were succoured by the Corin- 
thians and Corcyraeans, after having been defeated in a battle 
on the banks of the Elorus. They also mediated a peace be- 
tween Hippocrates and the Syracusans, on the condition that 
the latter should surrender to him Camarina, a city which from 
remote times had belonged to them. 

Hippocrates, after reigning the same number of years as his 
brother, met his death before the city Hybla, while making 
war upon the Sicilians. Then it was that Gelon, under pre- 
tence of maintaining the rights of Euclid and Cleander, the 
two sons of Hippocrates, against the people who refused any 
longer to submit to the rule of that family — in fact took pos- 
session of the throne for himself, after defeating the citizens of 
Gela, and deposing the sons of Hippocrates. After this 
achievement, Gelon put himself at the head of certain Syra- 
cusans, called Gamores {original landholders) who having 
been expelled by the commonalty and by their own slaves — 
called Cyllyrians, had established themselves at Casmenes. 
These persons he led back to Syracuse, and on his approach, 
the commonalty surrendered themselves and the city to him. 
Master now of Syracuse, he made less account of Gela, and 
placed it under his brother Hiero ; while he contented himself 
with Syracuse,' which presently, under his rule, advanced to a 
high state of prosperity. In the first place he transferred to 
that city the inhabitants of Camarina, which city he razed to 
the ground. Then he did the same with more than half of 
the people of Gela. Having besieged the Megarians of Sicily, 

(156) 



ADDRESS OF THE GREEKS TO GELON. 543 

he brought them to terms. The more opulent of them — as 
they had provoked the war, expected nothing but death : he 
however brought them to Syracuse, and admitted them to the 
right of citizenship. , While the Megarian commonalty, who 
had no share in exciting the war, and who therefore expected 
no punishment, he also led to Syracuse, where he sold them 
as slaves, to be exported from Sicily. The same course he 
pursued with the Eubceans of Sicily — dividing them into 
two classes, and banishing the inferior class, whom he con- 
sidered only as the most ungracious inmates of a community. 
By such means it was that (xelon became a powerful prince.] 

The messengers from the Grecian confederacy arriving 
at Syracuse, were admitted to an audience, and thus 
addressed Gelon — " The Lacedaemonians, the Athenians, 
and their confederates, have sent us to secure your aid 
against the Barbarian, who, as you must have learned, is 
advancing upon Greece. This Persian, having joined the 
Hellespont, leads with him from Asia all the forces of 
the east, and is about to invade Greece. Professedly he 
advances against Athens only ; but in fact intends to 
reduce all the states under his sway. You therefore, who 
have attained so great a height of power, and who, as 
sovereign, have under your command no inconsiderable 
portion of the Grecian body — we exhort to aid the de- 
fenders of the Grecian liberties, and to labour with them 
for its preservation. All Greece is assembled, a nu- 
merous forca is collected, and we are now competent to 
meet the enemy. But should some among us act a 
treacherous part, and others decline to afford their aid, 
so that the sounder portion of the community should be 
left in the minority, there would be the greatest reason to 
fear for the safety of all Greece. Nor must you ima- 
gine that if the Persian vanquishes us, he will not extend 
his progress to you. Rather take timely precautions to 
prevent his doing so. In aiding us you do in fact defend 
(157) 



544 REPLY OF GELON. 

yourself. Measures well concerted are for the most part 
crowned with success." 

Gelon replied to this speech with vehemence in the 
following terms — " Greeks, you have then the effrontery 
and the hardiness to call upon me to join you in resisting 
the Barbarian ! You who refused your aid when some 
time since I entreated you to assist me against a bar- 
barian host, while I was at war with the Carthagenians, 
and when I sought to avenge the murder of Dorieus, 
son of Anaxandrides, slain by the Egestseans, and when 
I offered to liberate the commercial towns from which 
you would have derived very great advantages ! Yet 
none of these motives would move you, no not so much 
as to avenge the death of Dorieus ! It was no thanks 
to you that all these regions did not become subject to 
Barbarians. But our affairs took a favourable turn, and 
have continued to improve ; and now that war surrounds 
you, and reaches your homes — forsooth, you remem- 
ber Gelon. Yet, though so shamefully treated by you, 
I will not follow the example you have set ; but am ready 
to afford my aid, and to furnish two hundred triremes, 
twenty thousand heavy-armed troops, two thousand horse, 
two thousand archers, two thousand slingers, and two 
thousand light-armed cavalry. I also engage to supply 
provisions for the entire army of Greece during the 
continuance of the war. All this I am willing to do, on 
condition that I am to be general in chief of the Grecian 
forces acting against the Barbarian. On no other terms 
will I either myself appear in the field, or despatch any 
of my subjects. 

Syagrus unable to restrain his emotions, thus replied to 
Gelon — " How would Agamemnon, offspring of Pelops, 
mourn to know that the Spartans have been spoiled of the 
supreme command by — a Gelon, and by Syracusans ! 
Never again think of proposing to us to resign that honour 
to you ! If you will succour Greece, know that you 

(159) 



REPLY OF THE ATHENIAN. 545 

must be commanded by the Lacedaemonians. Or if you 
think not good to submit, then neither afford your aid." 

Gelon, perceiving the aversion indicated by the reply 
of Syagrus, at length made the following proposition — 
" Spartan friend ! contumelies are wont to rouse the ire 
of him against whom they are directed. But no arro- 
gance of yours shall provoke me to give you a return of 
indecencies. If you make so much of the supreme com- 
mand, why may not I rather do so, who command a much 
larger force, and a much more numerous fleet than yours ? 
Yet as our proposition is so obnoxious to you, we retract 
something from our first demand. If the land forces are 
under your control, the fleet shall be under mine. Or if 
it please you rather to command on the seas, I will take 
the army. It now remains for you either to make your 
choice between these two propositions, or to depart with- 
out the alliance." 

Such were the conditions proposed by Gelon. The 
Athenian deputy preventing the Lacedaemonian, thus 
replied — " O king of the Syracusans, the states of Greece 
sent us not to ask of you a general, but an army : yet you 
declare you will send no army, unless the supreme com- 
mand of the Greek forces is given to you : so eager are 
you to be chief of the Greeks ! While you sought the 
command of the entire army, we Athenians were content 
to keep silence, well knowing that the Spartan was 
able to reply to you on behalf of both our states. But 
now that, being repulsed from your demand, you require 
the fleet only to be put under your control, the case is 
altered ; for even if the Spartan would yield it, we would 
not; for this place belongs to us — liable only to the 
option of the Lacedaemonians : — did they wish to command 
the fleet, we should not oppose them ; but to none besides 
will we concede the direction of the fleet. Strange would 
it be that we Athenians, to whom by far the larger portion 
of the navy of Greece belongs, should resign the command 
(161) 2 N 



546 DEPARTURE OF THE DEPUTIES. 

of it to the Syracusans !— We, the most ancient people of 
Greece ; we, who alone of all have never been removed 
from our first territory ;— we, to whom belonged the man 
celebrated by Homer, the epic poet, as the one who, among 
all that came to Troy, best knew how to discipline and 
marshal an army.* — We must not then be reproached for 
speaking as we have of our country." 

Gelon replied — "Athenian friend, you are, it seems, 
in no want of men to exercise command, but you need 
men to be commanded! And as you will recede in 
nothing, but must hold all for yourselves, it only remains 
for you to return whence you came as quickly as possible, 
and to announce to the Greeks that— the year has been 
robbed of its spring." By this last expression, he in- 
tended to intimate that, as the spring is manifestly the 
choicest time of the year, so were his own troops among 
all the Greek forces : and he likened Greece deprived of 
his alliance, to the year, if destitute of the spring. 

After this conference with Gelon, the Grecian deputies 
took their departure from Sicily. And thus Gelon, 
fearing for the Greeks that they would not be able to 
repel the Barbarian, and yet reckoning it an insufferable 
degradation — being as he was the sovereign of Sicily — 
to repair to the Peloponnesus, and to be subject to the 
control of the Lacedaemonians, abandoned the idea of 
sending his forces thither, and adopted another plan. 
Instantly, when informed that the Persian had passed the 
Hellespont, he despatched three penteconters, under the 
command of Cadmus, son of Scythes, a native of Coos, 
to Delphi, with a very large treasure, and also profes- 
sions of friendship : and he instructed him there to watch 
the event of the war — and if the Barbarian conquered, he 
was to offer to him the treasures, together with earth and 
water, on behalf of the countries governed by Gelon ; 

* Menestlieus. II. ii v. 552. 

(163) 



AND MEASURES OF GELON. 547 

but if the Greeks were the victors, he was to return to 
Sicily. This Cadmus had formerly received from his 
father the sovereignty of Coos — then firmly established; 
and yet, though compelled by no adverse circumstances, 
he spontaneously, and from the pure love of justice, had 
remitted the power into the hands of the people. After 
which he went to Sicily, and established himself with the 
Samians at Zancla ; the name of that city having since 
been changed to Messana. This Cadmus therefore, who 
in this manner settled in Sicily, and of whose integrity 
Gelon had made proof on other occasions, was, as I have 
said, sent by him to Delphi. And to all the former 
instances of his uprightness we must add this — as not 
the least, that when the vast treasure entrusted to him by 
Gelon was so at his disposal, that he might, have made 
it his own, he would not ; but after the Greeks had ob- 
tained a victory at sea (Salamis) and Xerxes had retired, 
he returned with the whole of it to Sicily. 

It is indeed affirmed by the Sicilians, that Gelon would 
have afforded aid to the Greeks, and even have submitted 
to the command of the Lacedaemonians, if it had not been 
for the following circumstances. — Terillus, son of Cri- 
nippus, tyrant of Himera, had been driven from that city 
by Theron, son of JEnesidemus, king of Agrigentum, 
and had brought into Sicily to oppose Theron — just at 
the time above-mentioned, an army of 300,000 men, con- 
sisting of Phoenicians, Libyans, Iberians, Ligurians, Heli- 
sycians, Sardinians, and Cyrnians, under the command of 
Amilcar, son of Anno, king of Carthage. The Cartha- 
genian king was influenced by his friendship for Terillus, 
and still more by the zeal of Anaxilaus, son of Cretineus, 
tyrant of Rhegium, who had surrendered his own chil- 
dren to Amilcar, as hostages, in order to incite him to 
invade Sicily, and avenge his father-in-law. For Anaxi- 
laus had married Cydippa, the daughter of Terillus. 
Under these circumstances therefore, Gelon, not being in 
(16S) 2 n 2 



548 DEFEAT OF THE CARTHAGENIANS. 

condition to aid the Greeks, sent his treasures to Delphi. 
The Sicilians moreover relate, that on the very day when 
the Greeks overthrew the Persians at Salamis, Gelon 
and Theron in Sicily vanquished Amilcar the Cartha- 
genian. This prince was, they say, on the father's side, 
a Carthagenian ; but on the mother's a Syracusan, and 
had obtained the throne by his personal merit. It is 
reported that at the time of this battle, in which his 
forces were defeated, he disappeared, nor could any where 
afterwards be discovered, either dead or alive, though a 
strict search was made for him by Gelon. 

The account given by the Carthagenians themselves, 
who endeavour to explain the event on grounds of pro- 
bability is this ; — they say that the conflict between the 
Greeks and Barbarians, who fought this battle in Sicily, 
lasted from dawn of day till the close of evening — so long 
a time was the combat drawn out ; — and during the whole 
of it, Amilcar remained in his camp, performing sacrifices, 
which were auspicious, and burning the bodies of the 
victims entire, on a vast pile. But seeing his own army 
give way, just as he was pouring libations on the victims, 
he threw himself upon the fire, and so being presently 
consumed, was no more seen. After his disappearance — 
whether in the manner affirmed by the Phoenicians, 
{Carthagenians) or in some other, as related by the Sy- 
racusans, the Carthagenians honoured him with sacri- 
fices, and erected shrines to his memory in all the cities 
founded by them : the most considerable of these monu- 
ments is at Carthage itself. So much for the affairs of 
Sicily. 

The same deputies on their return from Sicily went to 
Corcyra, where they delivered much the same message 
which they had addressed to Gelon. To the invitation of 
the Greeks the Corcyraeans gave an answer with which 
their actual behaviour by no means agreed. For they 
immediately engaged to send forces to repel the invader, 

(168) 



■:"? 



POLICY OF THE CORCYRiEANS. 549 

professing that " it was not for them to stand by and see 
the destruction of Greece ; for if Greece were overthrown, 
they could themselves expect nothing but speedy subju- 
gation. Their part therefore was to defend it to the very 
utmost of their power." Thus plausibly did they reply 
to the deputies. But when the time came for fulfilling 
their engagements, they, having other intentions, fitted 
out sixty ships, and after many needless delays, sent them 
to hover about the coasts of Peloponnesus, and cast 
anchor off the promontories of Pylus and Taenarus, on 
the Lacedaemonian territory, where they waited to observe 
the event of the war. For they thought the cause of 
the Greeks hopeless, and that the Persian, whose forces 
were so much superior, would bring the whole of Greece 
under his sway. They therefore carefully observed such 
a line of conduct as would allow them afterwards to say 
to the Persian king: — " We, although invited by the 
Greeks to join them in the war, and although possessed of 
a force by no means inconsiderable, and able to furnish a 
fleet inferior only to that of the Athenians, were resolved 
not to oppose you, or to act in any way contrary to your 
wishes." By language like this they hoped to secure 
better terms for themselves than would be granted to 
others ; and in my opinion their expectation would not 
have been disappointed. And then towards the Greeks 
they had a pretext in readiness of which, in fact, they 
availed themselves ; for when accused by the Greeks of 
not furnishing the promised aid, they said " they actually 
set sail with sixty triremes, but were prevented by the 
etesian winds from doubling the promontory of Malea. 
From this cause alone, and from no ill intention it was 
that they did not reach Salamis, nor take part in the 
engagement." 

When the Cretans were invited by the deputies from 
Greece, to join the confederacy, they sent messengers on 
behalf of the community to Delphi, to ask the god, if 
(169) 2 n 3 



550 POLICY OF THE CRETANS. 

it would be to their advantage to aid the Greeks ; the 
Pythian thus replied : — " O, simpletons ! (vniriot) you 
complain of the sorrows sent you by Minos in his wrath, 
on account of the succours afforded to Menelaus, to 
avenge the rape of his wife from Sparta by a barbarian ; 
although the Greeks would not aid you to avenge the 
death of Minos at Camicus (and yet you would again 
aid them.)" * Having received this answer, the Cretans 
refrained from furnishing any aid. 

[It is said that Minos, when searching for Daedalus, arrived 
in Sicania, now called Sicily, where he met a violent death. 
Some time afterwards the Cretans, at the instigation of the 
god, all arrived— the Polichnites and Praesians only ex- 
cepted — with a large armament in Sicania, and besieged 
Camicus during five years : — this city in our times was pos- 
sessed by the Agrigentines. At length, when they could 
neither take the city nor remain longer before it, on account 
of their want of provisions, they took their departure. But as 
they coasted the shores of Japygia, a violent hurricane over- 
took them, which drove the fleet aground. Their ships being 
thus broken, no means whatever appeared by which they might 
return to Crete : they therefore forthwith established them- 
selves, founding the city of Hyria, where* they remained, and 
changed their name, calling themselves no longer Cretans, 
but Messapian Japyges, and though originally islanders, were 
now occupants of the main land. The founding of Hyria was 
followed by that of other towns, from which, a long time 
afterwards, the Tarentines endeavouring to expel them, suf- 
fered a severe defeat. Indeed the slaughter that ensued 
among the Tarentines and the Rhegians was the greatest — 
so far as we know, which any of the Greeks have ever suf- 
fered. The people of Rhegium, compelled by Micythus, son 
of Choerus, to aid the Tarentines, sustained on this occasion 
the loss of three thousand men : the loss of the Tarentines is 

* The .s< n?c demands this corollary to be subjoined to the paragraph. 

(17 



CONDUCT OF THE THESSALI'ANS. 551 

not mentioned. Micythus, being a servant of Anaxilaus, was 
left governor of Rhegium. But being expelled from that 
city, he settled at Tegea, in Arcadia, and dedicated those 
many statues at Olympia. — I give this account of affair's at 
Rhegium and Tarentum by way of parenthesis in my history. 

Crete being stripped of its inhabitants, was occupied, as the 
Prsesians affirm, by various races of people, but chiefly by 
Greeks. In the third generation after the death of Minos, 
happened the Trojan war, and the Cretans did not appear 
with disadvantage among those who avenged the cause of 
Menelaus. But on account of the part they took in that 
war, on their return from Ilium, they endured a famine; and 
a pestilence afflicted both man and beast, till at length the 
island was a second time nearly deprived of its inhabitants. 
The present race of Cretans are a third people, mingled with 
those who survived the desolations. Thus by reminding them 
of these calamities, the Pythian restrained them from aiding 
the Greeks.] 



SECTION VIII. 

OCCUPATION OF TEMPE, OF THERMOPYLAE AND 
ARTEMISIUM. STORM AT APHETjE.. 

It was from compulsion only that the Thessalians, at 
first, favoured the interests of the Medes, which was 
proved by their expressing their disgust ^t the machina- 
tions of the Aleuads. And immediately after it was 
known that the Persian had passed over into Europe, 
they sent messengers to the Isthmus;* for at the Isthmus 
were assembled the senators elected from all those cities 
that affected the better cause — the cause of Greece. 

* The Isthmus of Corinth — frequently thus referred to in the following 
narrative. 

(172) 2 n 4 



552 OCCUPATION OF TEMPE; 

The Thessalian deputies, arriving at the place of meeting, 
thus addressed the assembly : — " Greeks ! it is necessary 
that the Olympic passage should be guarded, in order to put 
Thessaly, and indeed all Greece, in security from the war. 
We, for our parts, are ready to take our share in watch- 
ing this entrance ; but it is indispensable that you should 
send a strong body of men to the same point. Or if you 
fail to do so, know that we shall make terms with the 
Persian. Nor ought we, because situated so much in ad- 
vance of Greece, to be left alone to perish for you. If 
you are indisposed to support us, you can by no means 
compel us to act otherwise than we propose : — no one is 
obliged to do more than he is able ; and we shall leave no 
means untried for our own preservation. 

The Greeks in consequence of this message held a con- 
sultation, in which it was resolved to despatch a body of 
infantry by sea to guard the passage. The troops destined 
for this service were accordingly selected, and they sailed 
through the Euripus : when they reached Alus of Achaia 
(in Thessaly) they disembarked, and leaving their ships, 
advanced into Thessaly, and arrived at Tempe, where is 
the pass through which lies the road along the bank of the 
Peneus, leading from lower Macedonia into Thessaly, be- 
tween Mount Olympus and Ossa. There the combined 
Greeks, amounting to about ten thousand heavy armed 
men, encamped, attended also by a body of Thessalian 
horse. The Lacedaemonians were commanded by Evae- 
netus, son of Carenus, chosen from the polemarchs, though 
not of the royal family. The Athenians were under 
Themistocles, son of Neocles. In this station they re- 
mained a few days, when messengers arrived from Alex- 
ander, son of Amyntas, the Macedonian (king), who 
advised them to depart, and by no means to wait in the 
pass to be trampled under foot by the invading host, the 
amount of which, by sea and land, he made known. The 
Greeks believing the Macedonian to be well affected 

(173) 



THERMOPYLAE AND ARTEMISIUM. 553 

towards them, yielded to his suggestion, which appeared 
to themselves well founded. But as it seems to me, their 
fear was the prevailing motive ; for they learned that 
there was another entrance into Thessaly from upper 
Macedonia, through the territory of the Perrhsebes, and 
near Gonnus, and by which the host of Xerxes actually 
entered Greece. The Greeks therefore going on board 
their ships, returned to the Isthmus. This expedition 
into Thessaly took place while the king was still at Abydos, 
preparing to pass from Asia into Europe. The Thessa- 
lians thus abandoned by their allies, devoted themselves 
to the interests of the Medes with zeal and unquestioned 
loyalty, and in fact were unrivalled in the services they 
rendered to the king. 

The Greeks, on arriving at the Isthmus, held a con- 
sultation relative to the communication they had received 
from Alexander, and to determine on what plan the war 
should be prosecuted, and in what districts. The opinion 
which actually prevailed was that the pass of Thermo- 
pylae should be maintained ; for it appeared to be narrower 
than that of Thessaly (at Tempe), while at the same time 
it was nearer home. The mountain track, by which the 
Greeks afterwards assembled at Thermopylae were cir- 
cumvented, was not known to them till after their arrival 
at the pass, when they were informed of it by the Tra- 
chinians. It was then this pass of Thermopylae that the 
Greeks determined to guard, with the hope of preventing 
the entrance of the Barbarian upon Greece. At the same 
time the fleet was ordered to sail to Artemisium, in the 
territory of the Histiasotids, which was not far from 
Thermopylae, so that the army and the fleet might readily 
communicate with each other. 

These two spots may be thus described. To begin with 
Artemisium; it stands just where the Thracian bay con- 
tracts into a narrow strait, passing between the island 
Sciathus, and the main land of Magnesia. After that 
(176) 



554 DESCRIPTION OF THERMOPYLAE. 

strait {proceeding from the JEgean sea towards Thermo- 
pylae), the beach of Artemisium extends itself along the 
coast of Euboea; and upon that beach stands a temple 
of Diana. And now, for the entrance into Greece at 
Trachis, where it is not, at the narrowest part, more than 
fifty feet wide. And yet this is not the narrowest point 
of the whole passage ; for it is still less just before and 
behind Thermopylae. Behind, at Alpenus, there is barely 
room for a chariot to pass, and the same may be said of 
the point in advance of Thermopylae, by the river Phoenix, 
and near the town Anthela. The pass of Thermopylae is 
bounded towards the west by an inaccessible, precipitous, 
and lofty mountain, which stretches out till it joins the 
range of GEta. Towards the east the road is shut in by 
the sea, and by swamps. Within the pass there are hot 
baths, called by the people of the country — The Cisterns, 
and close to them stands an altar, dedicated to Hercules. 
The road had been intercepted by a wall, in which, 
anciently, there were gates : it was constructed by the 
Phocians, in dread of the Thessalians, who leaving Thes- 
prosia, settled on the iEolian territory (Thessaly), which 
they now possess. The Phocians therefore built this wall 
as a safeguard against the inroads of the Thessalians, 
who had attempted to subdue them. They had also led 
the water of the hot springs over the way, in order to 
convert the place into a quagmire ; thus using all possible 
devices to prevent the incursions of the Thessalians. 
This anciently-built wall had, for the most part, fallen by 
the lapse of time, but now it was re-edified by the Greeks, 
when they resolved at this point to defend Greece against 
the Barbarian. Very near to the road there is a village 
named Alpenus, whence they calculated upon receiving 
provisions for the troops. 

This spot, then, after they had inspected and maturely 
considered all the neighbouring country, appeared to the 
Greeks the best adapted to their purpose ; for here the 

(177; 



COMMUNICATION FROM DELPHI. 555 

barbarians could neither avail themselves of their superior 
numbers, nor of their cavalry : here therefore they re- 
solved to receive the invader of Greece. No sooner did 
they learn that the Persian had reached Pieria, than 
breaking up from the Isthmus, they proceeded — the army 
to Thermopylae, and the fleet to Artemisium. 

While the Greeks repaired in all haste to the spots 
they were severally appointed to defend, the Delphians, 
dismayed both for themselves and for Greece at large, 
consulted the god, and they were admonished — " to pray 
to the winds, for it was they who would be the principal 
defenders of Greece." On receiving this response, the 
Delphians, in the first place, communicated it to all those 
Greeks who wished well to its liberties, and in doing so, 
won the immortal gratitude of a people who, with the 
extremest terror were expecting the Barbarian. In the 
next place — the Delphians erected an altar to the winds at 
Thyia, where there is an enclosure consecrated to Thyia, 
the daughter of Cephissus, who gave her name to the 
district. On that altar they offered sacrifices to the 
winds, and in consequence of the response then given, 
have continued to do so to the present day. 

The navy of Xerxes advancing from Therma, sent for- 
wards ten ships — the quickest sailers in the fleet, directly 
to Sciathus. Three Greek vessels were stationed at that 
island on the look-out ; one of them from Trcezen, one 
from iEgina, and one from Attica; but perceiving the 
ships of the Barbarians, they made all speed to escape. 
The Barbarians pursuing, presently captured the Troe- 
zenian ship, commanded by Prexinus, and selecting from 
the whole crew the handsomest man, brought him to the 
ship's prow, and there slaughtered him, regarding it as a 
lucky omen, that the first Greek that fell into their hands 
was a man of so much beauty. The name of this 
slaughtered person was Leon — and perhaps even his name 
had some share in bringing upon him this fate. The 
(180) 



556 CAPTURE OF GRECIAN SHIPS. 

iEginetan trireme, commanded by Asonides, gave some 
trouble to the Barbarians by the valour of one of the 
crew — Pytheas, son of Ischenous, who displayed on that 
occasion uncommon valour ; for after the ship was taken, 
he continued to maintain the combat, even until he was 
hacked in pieces, and fell — not indeed dead, but just 
breathing. The Persians who boarded the vessel, ad- 
miring his valour, earnestly endeavoured to preserve his 
life, and dressed his wounds with myrrh — bound them up 
with bandages of fine linen (or cotton) and on their 
return to their camp, exhibited him to the whole army 
with admiration, and treated him with the greatest 
regard, while the other men taken in the same ship were 
dealt with only as slaves. 

Thus were captured two of the three ships : the third 
trireme, commanded by Phormus an Athenian, taking to 
flight, ran ashore at the mouth of the Peneus : — the Per- 
sians took the mere hulk, but none of the crew ; for on the 
instant that they drove it aground, they jumped from it, 
and proceeding through Thessaly, reached Athens. The 
Greeks stationed at Artemisium, learning by signals from 
Sciathus what had happened, were filled with dismay, 
and leaving Artemisium, retired to Chalcis, to defend 
the Euripus. Yet they left scouts on the heights of 
Eubcea. 

Of the ten barbarian vessels, three approached the 
rock which rises from the sea between Scyathus and 
Magnesia, and which is called Myrmex, and landing, the 
Barbarians erected a pillar of white marble which they 
had brought with them. Then the whole fleet — eleven 
days after the departure of Xerxes from Therma, left 
that place, and moved onwards ; for the seas were now 
cleared of all obstacles (by the retreat of the Greeks). 
They were guided to the rock which lay in their way 
by a Scyrian named Pammon. An entire day they 
coasted the shores of Magnesia, as far as Sepias, 

(183) 



NUMBER OF THE PERSIAN ARMY. 557 

and the beach between Casthanaea and the cliffs of 
Sepias. 

Hitherto, and even till they reached Thermopylae, the 
Persian armament had suffered no losses, and so far as I 
can calculate, its amount was as follows. — From Asia 
there were 1207 ships, having on board a host of all 
nations, amounting to 241,400 men, reckoning 200 men 
to a ship, and who constituted the original complement 
of each vessel. Then besides the crews furnished to the 
ships by the several nations, there were, in each, thirty 
men — Persians, Medes, or Saces ; these will make 
36,210. To these two amounts I add the crews of the 
penteconters, and supposing eighty in each — some more, 
some less, and there being, as I have before said, 3,000 
of them, will make 240,000. Such then was the host on 
board the fleet which came from Asia; and if the several 
numbers are computed, they make 517,610. The land 
army consisted of 1,700,000 infantry, and 80,000 cavalry : 
add to these the Arabians, riding camels, and the Libyans 
in chariots, reckoned at 20,000. All which added to the 
numbers on board the fleet, produce 2,317,610. These 
were the numbers brought from Asia, without including 
the attendants or the crews of the transports employed 
in carrying provisions. 

The forces collected in Europe are to be added to the 
above enumeration ; but these I can estimate only upon 
conjecture. The Greek vessels furnished by the Thra- 
cians, and from the islands contiguous to Thrace, 
amounted to one hundred and twenty : these must have 
been manned by 24,000 troops. The land forces raised for 
the service by the Thracians, the Pseonians, the Eordians, 
the Bottiaeans, the people of Chalcis, the Brygians, the 
Pierians, the Macedonians, the Perhaebians, the Enianians, 
the Dolopians, the Magnetians, the Achaeans, and by 
the maritime Thracians, must, I think, be reckoned at 
(185) 



558 NUMBER OF THE PERSIAN ARMY. 

300,000, which, added to the numbers given above, make 
2,641,610 fighting- men. Such being- the amount of the 
armed force, I am of opinion that the servants following 
the army, the crews of the victualling transports, and 
those in other ships which accompanied the expedition, 
were not altogether fewer than the fighting men ; — 
I think they were more : yet I will reckon them to have 
been equal in numbers — neither more nor fewer, but just 
as many myriads, and then it appears that Xerxes, son 
of Darius, led to Sepias and Thermopylae 5,283,220 
men. 

As to the female attendants of all sorts, cooks and 
others, no one pretends to state the number of them. 
Nor of the animals attached to carriages, and other 
beasts of burden, nor of the Indian dogs that fol- 
lowed the army. There is therefore to me nothing sur- 
prising in the fact, that some rivers were insufficient to 
satisfy the host. Hather may we wonder how so many 
myriads could be supplied with provisions ; for on cal- 
culation, I find that if a choenix of corn, and no more 
was consumed by each man, daily, then 11,340 medimns 
would be required for every day, without including the 
provision for the women, the ministers, the cattle, and 
the dogs. In an assemblage of so many myriads of 
men, there was not one who in point of height and beauty 
of form, might seem more fit than Xerxes to be master of 
such a host. 

The fleet sailing onwards, reached the coast of Mag- 
nesia, and as the ships approached the flat beach between 
Casthanaea and the headland of Sepia, the first that came 
up hove ashore, while those that followed formed a line 
at anchor behind them ; and so in eight lines they were 
ranged at sea ; — the beach not being extensive enough to 
admit them all. Thus they passed the night. At dawn 
of day, under a clear and tranquil sky, a swell of the sea 

(188) 



WRECK OF THE PERSIAN FLEET. 559 

took place,* folloAved by a violent gale from the east — 
called by the people of those shores a Hellespontin. 
Those of the fleet who perceived, in time, the swelling 
storm, and who were near the land, drew their vessels 
ashore, and so preventing the hurricane, saved them and 
their own liv^s. But such as were caught by it on the 
high seas, were driven — some upon what are called the 
Ovens of Mount Pelion — some upon the beach — some 
were wrecked about the promontory of Sepias — some at 
Melibcea — while some were cast ashore at Casthanasa. 
So irresistible was the tempest ! 

It has been affirmed that the Athenians, at the sugges- 
tion of an oracle, had invoked Boreas, another response 
having come to them in these terms : — " That they should 
call their son-in-law to their aid." For according to the 
tradition of the Greeks, Boreas married from Attica 
Orithyia, daughter of Erechtheus. On the ground of 
this affinity the Athenians conjectured, when the response 
arrived, that Boreas was this " son-in-law." And there- 
fore, as their fleet was off the coast of Eubcea, at Chalcis, 
when they perceived the rising storm — and indeed before 
— they offered victims, and addressed prayers to Boreas 
and to Orithyia, entreating their aid, and imploring them 
to destroy the barbarian fleet, as they had done at Athos. 
Whether it was in consequence of these prayers that 
Boreas fell upon the anchored Barbarians, I am unable 
to determine. But the Athenians affirm that Boreas 
who had aided them before, effected on this occasion 
what took place, and therefore, on their return, they 
erected a temple to him near the Ilissus. 

In this stress of weather there perished — according to 

* This is commonly translated " after a clear and serene sky," &c. 
to preserve apparent consistency. But this accommodated version is 
unnecessary ; for a sudden and violent swell of the sea, produced by a 
distant hurricane, not unfrequently falls upon the coast while tlie sky is 
open, and the wind scarcely stirring. 

(190) 



560 LOSS OF THE PERSIANS. 

the lowest accounts, not fewer than four hundred ships : 
— innumerable lives were lost, as well as a vast treasure. 
In fact a certain Magnesian, named Aminocles, son of 
Cratinus, who possessed lands near the promontory of 
Sepias, derived an ample fortune from this wreck of the 
fleet, for some time afterwards he drew up very many 
vessels of gold and of silver that had been cast away. 
He found also coffers belonging to the Persians, and an 
infinity of articles of gold. Yet in other respects this 
man was not happy, though by these means he had become 
so rich ; for it was his grief unwittingly to have killed 
his son. 

The number of victualling transports destroyed in the 
storm has not been recorded. The commanders of the 
fleet dreaded lest the Thessalians, taking advantage of 
the misfortune, should attack them, and therefore sur- 
rounded the remaining ships (on the beach) with a high 
fence, formed of the wrecks. The gale raged during 
three days : at length the Mages, by making incisions,* 
and by performing incantations to the wind, and more- 
over by sacrificing to Thetis and the Nereids, assuaged 
the storm on the fourth day ; — or it might be that it 
abated of its own accord. They sacrificed to Thetis on 
the suggestion of the Ionians, who told them that she 
had been stolen from this region by Peleus, and that to 
her, as well as to the other Nereids, all this Sepian coast 
belonged. But, as we say, the wind ceased on the 
fourth day. 

The Grecian scouts stationed on the heights of Eubcea, 
hastened away on the second day after the storm com- 
menced, and announced to the Greeks the destruction of 
the enemy's fleet. On receiving this information, they 
instantly offered their vows with libations to Neptune, 
the Deliverer, and then with all haste returned to Arte- 

* evTOfia re ttoievvtsq. See I Kings xviii. 28. 

(192) 



SANDOCES. 561 

misium, hoping to find only some few of the enemy's 
ships remaining. In this station, therefore, they a second 
time moored their fleet. From that time to this Neptune 
has borne the appellation of the Deliverer. As for the 
Barbarians — when the wind had ceased, and the swell 
was subsided, they hauled their ships to sea, and pro- 
ceeded along- the coast. Doubling the headland of Mag- 
nesia (Sepias), they sailed directly into the Pagasian 
gulph. In this gulph (which washes the shores) of Mag- 
nesia, there is a spot where it is reported that Hercules 
was abandoned by Jason and his comrades, of the ship 
Argo, when, in quest of the fleece, they sailed to iEa of 
Colchis. Hercules had been sent ashore to obtain water. 
From the circumstance of the Argonauts departing from 
this spot, after watering, it acquired the name Aphetse 
( point of departure), and it was here that the fleet of 
Xerxes came to anchor. 

It happened that fifteen of these ships lingering some 
way behind the fleet when it weighed, perceived the Gre- 
cian fleet at Artemisium, and the Barbarians mistaking 
them for their own, fell into the very midst of the enemy. 
They were under the command of Sandoces, son of Tha- 
masius, from Cyme of iEolia. He had formerly been 
one of the royal judges, and being convicted of giving 
an unrighteous decision for a bribe, was, by the order of 
Darius, affixed to a cross ; but while yet suspended, the 
king on reflection thinking that the services he had ren- 
dered to the realm exceeded his faults, and being also 
conscious that in condemning him he had himself acted 
with more precipitation than prudence, released him. 
Thus he survived the death to which he had been con- 
demned by the king ; but on the present occasion he was 
not to gain a second escape, for when he sailed into the 
Grecian fleet, the Greeks seeing the fifteen ships ap- 
proach, and perceiving the error in which they were, 
advanced and easily captured them. 
(194) 2 o 



562 ADVANCE OF XERXES 

In one of these ships was taken Aridolis, tyrant of the 
Alabandians, in Caria ; in another, the Paphian general, 
Penthylus, son of Demonous ; he had commanded twelve 
ships, eleven of which he lost in the storm, off Cape 
Sepias, and in the one which escaped he was captured 
while sailing to Artemisium. After learning from them 
whatever they wished concerning the forces of Xerxes, 
the Greeks sent their prisoners bound to the Corinthian 
Isthmus. The rest of the Barbarian fleet, excepting 
these fifteen, which, as I have said, were commanded by 
Sandoces, reached Aphetee. Meantime Xerxes, at the 
head of the army, marching through Thessaly and 
Achaia {of Phthiotis), arrived, the third day, in the 
territory of the Maliens. While in Thessaly, he had 
tried his own cavalry in a combat with the Thessalian 
horse, which he had been informed was the best to be 
found in Greece ; but they proved much inferior to the 
Persian. Of all the rivers of Thessaly, the Onochonus 
alone failed to satiate the thirst of the army. But of the 
rivers of Achaia, only the largest of them — the Epida- 
nus, sufficed — and that very poorly. 

On the way to Alos in Achaia, Xerxes was informed 
by his guides— who wished to tell whatever could be 
told — of the country-story concerning the temple of the 
Laphystian Jupiter. Athamas, son of iEolus, said they, had 
concerted with Ino the destruction of Phrixus. But in after 
time the Achaians, at the command of an oracle, imposed 
upon his descendants the following hard conditions : — they 
prohibited the eldest member of this race, in perpetuity, 
from entering the prytaneum, and themselves kept watch 
to prevent his approach. The Achaians call this pryta- 
neum — the hall of the people. But should he enter, he 
must no otherwise go out than as a victim to be immolated. 
Many of those, added the guides, who thus became 
liable to be sacrificed, have, in fear of that fate, betaken 
themselves to a foreign land ; but if, after the lapse of 

(197) 



TOWARDS THERMOPYLAE. 5(53 

time any one of them has returned, and has been caught 
entering the prytaneum, he has been sacrificed, after 
being led forth with pomp, thickly shrouded in garlands. 
The descendants of Cytissorus, son of Phixus, are liable 
to these inflictions because, when the Achaians were about 
to make an expiation for their country, at the command 
of the oracle, by immolating Athamas, son of iEolus, this 
Cytissorus, arriving from iEa of Colchis, rescued him, 
and in so doing drew upon his posterity the wrath of the 
god. Xerxes having heard this story — when he passed 
the sacred grove, himself avoided entering it, and forbad 
any of the army to enter it : he in like manner respected 
the house and fane of the descendants of Athamas. 



SECTION IX. 

PRELIMINARY CONTESTS AT THERMOPYLAE. 

These circumstances occurred in Thessaly and Achaia. 
Thence Xerxes advanced into Malia, by the shore of a 
gulph where there is daily an ebb and flow of the sea, 
and near the margin is a level, in one part wide — in an- 
other very narrow : lofty and inaccessible mountains 
enclose this Malian level ; these heights are called the 
Trachinian rocks. The first town on the gulph, in coming 
from Achaia, is Anticyra, near to which the river Sper- 
chius, flowing from Eniania, passes and meets the sea. 
At the distance of about twenty furlongs is another river, 
named the Dyras, which, as the story goes, came forth in 
aid of Hercules when he burned himself. Again, at the 
distance of twenty furlongs, is a river called the Melas, 
five furlongs from which stands the city Trachis, and about 
(199) 2 o 2 



564 POSITION OF THE TWO ARMIES. 

this place, the level, from the foot of the hills to the sea, 
is wider than in any other part of the coast, for the plain 
measures 22,000 plethra. The mountain range which en- 
closes the Trachinian territory, is divided by a ravine, 
south of Trachis, through which the river Asopus, flowing 
around the base of the mountain, finds its way. 

South of the Asopus is a small river named the Phoenix, 
which, rising in the same mountains, flows into it : in the 
course of the Phoenix, the level is very narrow, being 
formed to admit only a single chariot. From hence to 
Thermopylae is a distance of fifteen furlongs, and midway 
between the Phoenix and Thermopylae stands a village 
named Anthela, near which passes the Asopus, just where 
it empties itself into the sea. Around Anthela the country 
is more spacious, and contains a temple of the Amphictyon 
Ceres, and the seats of the Amphictyons, and a temple 
dedicated to Amphictyon himself. 

It was in Trachinia of Malea that Xerxes formed his 
camp, while the Greeks posted themselves in the passage. 
This place is by the Greeks in general called Thermo- 
pylae ; but the inhabitants of the vicinity call it Pylae.* 
Such was the situation of the two encampments : — the 
one towards the north, filled the entire country as far as 
Trachis ; while the Greeks held the tract which stretches 
towards the south. This body of Greeks which awaited the 
Persian, consisted of three hundred heavy-armed Spartans, 
five hundred Tegeans, and the same number of Mantineans : 
from Orchomenus of Arcadia, one hundred and twenty ; 
from the rest of Arcadia, 1000 : from Corinth, four hun- 
dred ; from Phlius, two hundred ; and from Mycenae, eighty. 
These were the Pel oponnesian levies present at Thermopylae. 
Of the Boeotians, the Thespians sent seven hundred men, 
and the Thebans four hundred. Besides these, there were 
present, by summons, the entire forces of the Opuntian 

* Thermopylae— gates or passes of the hot (springs) : Pylee — the passes. 

(203) 



ANCESTRY OF LEONIDAS. 565 

Locrians, and 1000 Phocians. The Greeks had them- 
selves invited the attendance of these troops by a message 
to this effect : — " That they (the Locrians and Phocians) 
should move in advance (being nearest to the point of 
attack), while the general body of the allies was daily 
expected to come up. Meantime the sea was held by the 
Athenians, the iEginetans, and others, to whom that duty 
had been assigned — That nothing extraordinary was to 
be feared ; for it was not a god who invaded Greece, but 
a mere man : nor has there been, nor shall there ever be, 
a mortal exempt, even from his birth, from mixtures of 
misfortune ; especially are the most exalted of mankind 
liable to reverses. He therefore who advances against 
us — being a mortal — owes the disappointment of his hopes 
to the course of human affairs.' 1 On receiving this ap- 
peal they marched into Trachinia. 

The forces of each state had their own generals ; but 
the most distinguished among them, and he who held the 
supreme command, was the Lacedaemonian king, Leonidas, 
whose line of ancestors is reckoned thus : — Leonidas, the 
son of Anaxandrides — Leon — Eurycratides — Anaxander 
— Eurycrates — Polydorus — Alcamenes — Telecl us — Ar- 
chelaus — Agesilaus — Doryssus — Leobotes — Echestratus 
— Agis — Eurysthenes — Aristodemus — Aristomachus — 
Cleodseus — Hyllus — Hercules. This Leonidas obtained 
the throne of Sparta contrary to expectation ; for having 
two brothers elder than himself, Cleomenes and Dorieus, 
he entertained no thought of the royal dignity. But 
Cleomenes dying without male issue, and Dorieus being 
no more — for he had ended his days in Sicily, the sceptre 
devolved upon Leonidas, who was the eldest son of 
Cleombrotus, who was the youngest son of Anaxandrides ; 
and he had also married the daughter of Cleomenes. Se- 
lecting from the army the appointed number of three 
hundred Spartans, whom he took care to be such as had 
children, he marched towards Thermopylae, taking with 
(205) 2 o 3 



566 CONSTANCY OF LEONIDAS. 

him also the Thebans, the number of whom I have men- 
tioned, and who were commanded by Leontiades, son of 
Eurymachus. Leonidas was especially careful to lead 
with him these Thebans, of all the Greeks, because they 
were strongly charged with an inclination to favour the 
Medes. He therefore summoned them to the war, in 
order to prove whether they would indeed send their 
forces, or openly renounce the Greek alliance. They 
took the former course, yet with an inimical intention. 

The Spartans sent forwards this band of men under 
Leonidas, as an inducement to the other confederates to 
advance ; and lest also, if they should seem to be using 
delays, the others should go over to the Medes. At the 
moment the festival of the Carneia, which was then to 
be celebrated, prevented the march of the entire army ; 
but when the appointed days were expired, they proposed 
to move in a body, leaving only a necessary garrison at • 
Sparta. In like manner the other allies were detained by 
the Olympic games, which happened at the very time of 
these events, and not supposing that a decisive action 
would so soon take place at Thermopylae, they sent for- 
ward a detachment only. Such were the reasons of the 
course adopted. 

Meanwhile the Greeks at Thermopylae, when the 
Persian actually approached the extremity of the pass, 
were seized with fear, and in a consultation, proposed a 
retreat. The other Peloponnesians advised to retire and 
guard the Isthmus ; but Leonidas — as the Phocians and. 
Locrians indignantly resented this proposition, decided to 
remain, and also to despatch messengers to the several 
states, enjoining them to send aid, as themselves were too 
few to keep the army of the Medes in check. While 
thus deliberating, Xerxes sent a horseman as a scout, to 
observe their numbers and movements ; for while yet in 
Thessaly he had heard that a small force was assembled 
at the pass, of which the Lacedaemonians were the chief, 

(208) 



XERXES AND DEMARATUS. 567 

commanded by Leonidas, the descendant of Hercules. 
This horseman approaching the Grecian camp, beheld, 
not indeed the whole of it, for those who were posted 
as a guard behind the wall that had been re-edified, could 
not be seen ; but he informed himself of those who were 
planted in advance of it, and it happened at that time 
that it was the Lacedaemonians, who were without the 
wall : these he beheld with admiration, some performing 
gymnastic exercises, and some dressing their locks. 
After counting their numbers with exactness, he retired 
in silence ; nor did any one pursue him, for they regarded 
him with extreme contempt. Returning to Xerxes, he 
described all that he had seen. 

But Xerxes, on hearing his report, far from being able 
to comprehend the real fact, that these Greeks were 
preparing themselves to die, after dealing destruction to 
the utmost of their power upon the enemy — thought their 
behaviour was altogether ridiculous. He therefore sent 
for Demaratus, son of Ariston, who was then in the 
camp, and from whom he sought an explanation of the 
conduct of the Lacedaemonians. The Spartan thus re- 
plied to the inquiries of Xerxes. — " You heard me de- 
scribe these same people before, when yet we were ad- 
vancing against Greece, and then you treated with 
ridicule what I affirmed, when I anticipated what has 
now actually taken place. Yet it is my great endeavour 
to adhere to the strictest truth before you, O king ; — and 
now hear it again. — These men are come to dispute with 
us the pass, and for this they are preparing themselves ; 
for it is their custom, whenever they are about to put 
their life in peril, to dress their locks with care. And 
be assured, that if you vanquish these men, and those 
also who remain at Sparta, there is no other people in the 
world, O king, that will remain to lift a hand against 
you. For you are now to contend with the fairest state, 
and with the bravest men of all Greece." Xerxes, to 
(209) 2 o 4 



568 FIRST ONSETS. 

whom these representations appeared unworthy of atten- 
tion, again asked, " how it could be that the Greeks — 
few as they were, could combat such an army as his." — 
" O king," replied Demaratus, " treat me as a deceiver if 
what I have predicted does not happen." 

Xerxes unmoved by the statements of the Spartan, 
suffered four days to pass in the continual hope that the 
Greeks would retreat. But on the fifth, as they still 
remained, and as he attributed their stay only to an 
unadvised temerity, he sent against them, in great rage, 
a body of Medes and Cissians, whom he enjoined " to 
bring the men alive into his presence." The Medes bore 
down upon the Greeks impetuously, and were slaughtered 
in great numbers. Others followed to the charge, and 
maintained the fight, though severely handled. It now 
became manifest to every one, even to the king, that 
though he had many men, he had few soldiers. The 
combat lasted through the day. 

The Medes having suffered severely, retired, and were 
succeeded by the Persians ; — those called by the king the 
Immortals, commanded by Hydarnes. They came up as 
if to achieve an easy victory ; but when they actually 
engaged the Greeks, they effected nothing better than 
had been done by the body of Medes, for the narrow 
space within which they fought gave their superior num- 
bers no advantage : at the same time, their spears were 
shorter than those of the Greeks. The Lacedaemonians 
did indeed fight in a manner worthy of fame, and made 
apparent all the difference between their own skill in 
war, and the unskilfulness of the enemy: — thus, often, 
they turned the back, as if to retreat in a body ; when 
the Barbarians, seeing them flee, followed with shouts 
and hubbub : but the Greeks, just as they were over- 
taken, faced about, and met the Barbarians, and turning 
them, overthrew countless multitudes, while some few 
only of the Spartans fell. The Persians unable, by all 

(211) 



TREASON OF EPHIALTES. 569 

their efforts in masses, or otherwise, to gain possession 
of the pass, at length retired. 

It is reported; that the king who witnessed these 
onsets, three times sprang from his throne in terror for his 
troops. Such was this combat! Nor did the Bar- 
barians, on the following day, fight with more advantage, 
although they had hoped that the Greeks, few in num- 
ber as they were, and most of them wounded, would not 
be in condition any more to lift a hand against them. 
But the Greeks, marshalled in the most exact order, 
according to their several cities, maintained the fight in 
turns ; — all except the Phocians, who were stationed on 
the mountain to guard the foot-path. The Persians per- 
ceiving that they met no better success than on the pre- 
ceding day, retired. 

While the king remained in doubt what course to take 
in the present state of affairs, he was addressed by a 
Malian, named Ephialtes, son of Eurydemus, who, in 
expectation of obtaining from him a great reward, made 
known the foot-path over the mountain to Thermopylae, 
and thus he caused the destruction of the Greeks sta- 
tioned there. This man afterwards dreading the Lace- 
daemonians, fled into Thessaly ; but though he had retired, 
a price was put upon his head by the Pylagors of the 
Amphictyons, in an assembly at Pylae : in the end, having 
gone to Anticyra, he was killed by Athenades, aTrachinian, 
but on a different account, as I shall mention in a sub- 
sequent part of this history.* Yet was Athenades never- 
theless honoured by the Lacedaemonians. Thus did 
Ephialtes at length perish. 

A different story is told — to this effect, that it was 
Onetes, son of Phanagoras — a citizen of Carystus, and 
Corydallus of Anticyra, who made this communication 
to the king, and acted as guides over the mountains to 

* No such account actually occurs. 

(214) 



570 CIRCUMVENTION 

the Persians. But I give no credit to it, for in the first 
place — which is sufficient proof, the Pylagors, who 
surely had informed themselves accurately of the fact, 
proclaimed a reward for the capture, not of Onetes, or of 
Corydallus ; but of Ephialtes, the Trachinian : — in the 
next place, we well know that for this cause Ephialtes 
fled his country. Not but what Onetes, though not a 
Malian, might, by frequently passing through the coun- 
try, have become acquainted with the path. — But it was 
Ephialtes who actually led the Persians over the mountain 
by this way, and him I record as guilty of the crime. 

Xerxes well pleased at hearing what Ephialtes engaged 
to perform, and in great glee, instantly despatched Hy- 
darnes, with the troops under his command, to effect it. 
They left the camp at the hour of lighting lamps. The 
path was first discovered by the Malians who inhabit this 
region, and having found it, they conducted the Thes- 
salians by it against the Phocians, at the time when these 
had secured the pass (of Thermopylce) by a wall, and 
were by this means sheltered from attacks. — From that 
time to this it seems, the Malians have made no very good 
use of the mountain path. 

The path may be thus described : — it commences at 
the Asopus, where that river flows through the cleft in 
the mountains — both the mountain and the path over it 
are called — Anopaea. It extends over the ridge of the 
hill, and terminates near Alpenus, the first town of 
the Locrians, on the side of the Malians, and where 
stands the rock called Melampygus, and the haunts of the 
Cercopes, and at this point it is the most narrow. The 
Persians then crossing the Asopus, opposite to the com- 
mencement of the path, proceeded during the whole night, 
having on the right Mount (Eta, and on the left the 
Trachinian heights. At dawn of day they attained the 
summit of the mountain. It was guarded, as I have 
already said, by one thousand heavy-armed Phocians, 

(217) 



OF THE GREEKS. 571 

'who were stationed there both to defend their own coun- 
try from invasion, and to secure the path, while the lower 
pass was held by the Greeks, of whom I have before 
spoken. The Phocians had freely undertaken this service, 
and had given their word to Leonidas to guard the path. 

During their ascent, the Persians were concealed from 
these Phocians, for the mountain was entirely covered 
with oaks. But when they reached the summit, their 
approach was made known to the Greeks by the rustling 
of the leaves under the feet of the Persians, which might 
easily be heard, for a perfect stillness prevailed. In- 
stantly the Phocians flew to arms, and scarcely had they 
done so, when the Barbarians presented themselves ; 
these, on their part, were surprised at beholding a body 
of men arraying themselves for combat ; for they had not 
expected to meet an enemy; yet they here encountered 
an array of battle. Hydarnes, seized with terror, under 
the idea that these Phocians were Lacedaemonians, im- 
mediately asked Ephialtes of what country they were, 
and on being exactly informed, he marshalled the Per- 
sians in order of battle. But the Phocians assailed by 
a thick shower of arrows, retired in haste to the ridge of 
the mountain — not doubting that the attack was de- 
signedly made upon themselves : they therefore prepared 
themselves to meet their fate ; — such was their sup- 
position. Meanwhile the Persians under Hydarnes, 
guided by Ephialtes, without paying any regard to the 
Phocians, descended {the southern side of) the mountain 
with all speed. 

To the Greeks stationed at Thermopylae), Megistias the 
diviner, after inspecting the victims, had already an- 
nounced that death awaited them at dawn. And then 
some deserters arrived, even during the night, and re- 
ported that the Persians were making the circuit of the 
mountain. And then, at the earliest dawn, the scouts 
came in, who had ran from the heights. Immediately a 
(219) 



572 MOTIVES OF LEONIDAS. 

council was held among the Greeks, in which opinions 
were divided, some advising- not to abandon their post, 
and others the contrary. The consequence of this dis- 
agreement was, that a part of the forces actually departed, 
and dispersed themselves among their several cities, 
while a part, with Leonidas, prepared themselves to 
remain. 

It has indeed been affirmed that Leonidas, unwilling 
that they should perish, himself dismissed them ; while 
he, with the Spartans who were there, could not think it 
honourable to abandon the very station, to preserve which 
was the intention of their coming. For myself, I rather 
incline to the opinion that Leonidas perceiving a want of 
heart in his allies, and that they were indisposed to share 
with him the danger, commanded them to depart, though 
he could not himself with honour retire ; while in re- 
maining, he should at once leave a high fame for himself 
to after ages, and secure the permanent prosperity of 
Sparta. For it had been announced to the Spartans, 
by the Pythian, when, at the commencement of the war, 
they inquired concerning its issue, that " either Lace- 
daemon would be overthrown by the Barbarians, or their 
king must perish." This response was conveyed in the 
following verses : — 

" Hear ye who Sparta's wide-spread town possess ! 
Your far-famed city, Persian hosts distress — 
Or Lacedaemon weeps a slaughtered chief; 
— A son of Hercules demands her grief. 
Nor force of bulls, nor lion's force withstands 
Him who the might of Jupiter commands. 
Till one of Sparta's kings for all is slain, 
Arms shall oppose his onward course in vain." 

Leonidas— I say — reflecting on this oracle, and wishing 
also to reserve the glory to the Spartans alone, chose 
rather to dismiss the allies, than that they should dis- 
gracefully depart in opposition to his decision. I am 

(220) 



APPROACH OF THE CONFLICT. 573 

also strongly confirmed in this opinion by the fact, that 
Leonidas not only dismissed the allies, but would have 
sent away also the diviner who followed the army. 
This Megistias of Acarnania — said to be descended from 
Melampus, who on inspection of the victims predicted 
the approaching events, received from Leonidas leave 
to depart, plainly that he might not perish with the 
Spartans. Though thus dismissed, he would not himself 
abandon them, but sent away his son — an only son, who 
served in the army. 

The allies thus dismissed by Leonidas, yielded to 
his commands, and took their departure, excepting 
the Thespians and the Thebans, who alone remained 
with the Lacedasmonians : — the latter indeed much 
against their inclination, were detained as hostages by 
Leonidas. But the Thespians stayed with hearty good 
will; for they professed their determination never to 
leave Leonidas and his party ; but rather to remain and 
die with them. They were commanded by Demophilus, 
son of Diadromes. 



SECTION X. 

FATE OF LEONIDAS AND HIS SPARTANS. 

As the sun arose, Xerxes poured forth libations, and 
waiting till about the time of full-market, set out; — 
thus he had been instructed by Ephialtes ; for the descent 
from the mountain is much shorter than the circuit which 
must be made in ascending it. The Barbarians with 
Xerxes now drew on, while the Greeks with Leonidas 
marching as to death, advanced much further than here- 
tofore in the passage, and until they reached the wider 
part of the defile. Hitherto the wall had afforded them 
(223) 



574 FATE OF LEONIDAS 

protection, for they had fought on the former days only 
in the narrowest part of the road. But now they engaged 
the enemy beyond the narrows, and great numbers of the 
Barbarians fell. Behind each rank were seen the officers 
with whips flogging the men, and continually goading them 
to move on. Multitudes of them fell into the sea, and so 
perished; but many more were trampled to death by 
their own ranks, nor was any regard paid to the dying. 
The Greeks, well knowing that death awaited them from 
the enemy who had come round the mountain, put forth 
their utmost vigour in attacking the Barbarians : — reck- 
less of their own lives, they fell furiously upon the enemy. 
Most of their spears being broken, they dealt upon the 
Persians with their swords. 

In this combat fell Leonidas, valiantly fighting, and 
with him those celebrated Spartans whose names — wor- 
thy as they are of renown, I have learned ; — the names 
even of the whole three hundred. Many distinguished 
Persians also fell on this occasion. Among these were 
two sons of Darius — Abrocomes, and Hyperanthes. 
Their mother was Prataguna, daughter of Artanes, the 
brother of the king, and son of Hystaspes, son of Arsames. 
In giving his daughter to Darius, Artanes had given his 
all, for he had no other child. 

Thus fell fighting in this place the two brothers of 
Xerxes. A great struggle took place between the 
Persians and Lacedaemonians over the body of Leonidas : 
at length, after four times repelling their assailants, the 
Greeks by their valour succeeded in withdrawing it. 
The combat was maintained until the Persians, led by 
Ephialtes, came up ; when the Greeks were informed of 
their approach, the contest assumed another aspect, for 
now they retreated to the narrow part of the road, and 
passing the wall, they stationed themselves in close 
order — all except the Thebans, upon the rising ground, 
at the entrance of the pass, where now stands the marble 

(225) 



AND THE SPARTANS. , 575 

lion on the tomb of Leonidas. On this spot they con- 
tinued to fight — with their swords, those who retained 
swords, or with their hands and teeth, until buried 
beneath the missiles of the Barbarians, who came up — 
some in front after demolishing the wall, and others on 
each side, who had made the circuit of the mountain. 

Though all the Lacedaemonians and Thespians behaved 
in this valiant manner, a Spartan, named Dieneces, is 
mentioned as the first in bravery. It is said of him, that 
before the battle joined with the Medes, when a certain 
Trachinian affirmed in his hearing, that if the Medes 
discharged their arrows, such was the number of their 
host, the sun would be obscured by the flight of their 
missiles ; he, not at all smitten with fear, and utterly dis- 
regarding the numbers of the Medes, replied : — " Our 
Trachinian friend tells us nothing but good news — if in- 
deed the Medes darken the sky, then we shall fight in the 
shade, nor be exposed to the sun." This same Dieneces 
the Lacedaemonian, left, as a memorial of himself, many 
similar sayings. Next to him, the most distinguished of 
the Lacedaemonians were two brothers, named Alpheus 
and Maron, the sons of Orsiphantus. Among the Thes- 
pians, Dithyrambus, son of Armatides, has been most 
celebrated. 

They were all buried on the spot where they fell ; as 
also were those who died before Leonidas dismissed the 
allies: over them was the following inscription, which 
belonged in common to all : — 

" In this place once fought, with three millions, 
four thousand men from Peloponnesus." 

The inscription peculiar to the Spartans, was in these 
words : — 

(228) 



.~i7i> KURYTUS AND ARISTODEMUS. 

" Stranger ! go tell the Lacedaemonians we lie here 
in yielding obedience to their commands."* 

The inscription over the tomb of the diviner was this : — 

" The monument of the illustrious Megistias, slain 
by the Medes, what time they passed the Sperchius. 
The seer, who though well he knew the im- 
pending fate, would not desert the chiefs of 

Sparta/' 

This last inscription was composed and placed over 
the tomb by Simonides, son of Leoprepes, from personal 
friendship. The others, with the columns that bore them, 
were placed by the Amphictyons themselves. 

Of the three hundred Spartans, it is affirmed that two 
— Eurytus and Aristodemus, had the option either of 
saving their lives by agreeing to return to Sparta — for 
both of them had been dismissed from the camp by 
Leonidas, on account of a severe disease of the eyes 
under which they laboured, and were lying at Alpenus ; 
or, if they would not so return, they might have met their 
fate with their comrades : such was the alternative pre- 
sented to both. But they were differently minded, for Eu- 
rytus, on learning that the Persians were coming round by 
the mountain-path, demanded his arms, and having in- 
vested himself, ordered his helot to lead him among the 
combatants : the man did so, and himself fled ; but the 
Spartan, left in the midst of the affray, perished ; while 
Aristodemus, the faint-hearted, was left at Alpenus. Now 
I think that if Aristodemus only had, on account of sick- 
ness, returned home, or if both of them, being of the same 
mind, had returned, they would not have incurred the anger 

* or — their laws. 

(229) 



PUSILLANIMITY OF THE THEBANS. 577 

of the Spartan people. But as one of them had perished 
in the fight, while the other, who had only the same excuse 
to plead, was unwilling to die, he, of course, became the 
object of their extreme indignation. Thus, as some 
affirm, and on this pretext, did Aristodemus save himself, 
and return to Sparta. But there are those who say that 
he had been despatched as a messenger from the camp, 
and might have returned to take part in the combat, but 
would not, and by lingering on the road saved himself, 
while his companion actually returned, and died with the 
others. On his return to Lacedsemon, Aristodemus met 
reproach and contempt, and to such an extent was his 
disgrace carried, that no Spartan would either afford him 
fire or converse with him. The opprobrium attached to 
him was the being called — " Aristodemus the run- 
away".* Yet afterwards, in the battle of Platsea, he 
fully absolved himself from this dishonour. It is said 
that another of the three hundred, who had been sent 
into Thessaly, survived also ; his name was Pantites, and 
on his return to Sparta, finding himself disgraced, he 
hanged himself. 

The Thebans, commanded by Leontiades, fought with 
the Greeks against the king only so long as they were 
under compulsion, and no sooner did they see the Per- 
sians gaining the advantage, and the Greeks with Leo- 
nidas receding to the mount, than they separated them- 
selves from them, and extending their hands, approached 
the Barbarians saying, very truly, " that they favoured 
the Medes, and had been among the first to send earth 
and water to the king; that by compulsion only they 
had come to Thermopylae, and were guiltless of the 
slaughter that had taken place in the king's army." By 
this profession they saved themselves ; for the Thessa- 
lians vouched for the truth of their assertions. And yet 



or the quakcr. 

2 r 



578 ADVICE OF DEMARATUS, 

even so it was not the fortune of all to escape ; for even 
while the Barbarians were receiving them, some were 
slain by them as they came up. The majority were, by 
the order of Xerxes, branded as the king's property, and 
the stigma was first affixed to their commander, Leon- 
tiades. At a subsequent period, Eurymachus, the son of 
this general, having taken Plataea at the head of four 
hundred Thebans, was slain by the Plataeans. 

Thus fought the Greeks at Thermopylae. Xerxes 
calling for Demaratus, opened a conversation by thus 
addressing him. " Demaratus, you are an honest man : 
in truth I must think so, for all that you predicted has 
taken place. And now tell me how many of these Lace- 
demonians are there left? or how many are there as 
valiant as these ? or are they all so V " O king," re- 
plied he, " the Lacedaemonians are numerous, and their 
towns many ; but you shall learn what you would know. 
Sparta in Lacedaemon is a city containing about 8000 
men, all such as those who have fought here. The other 
Lacedaemonians, though not like these, are yet brave." 
" Tell me at once," rejoined Xerxes, " by what means 
we may most easily subdue these men ; for you who have 
been their king know what are their purposes and mode 
of procedure," 

" O king," said Demaratus, " as you so earnestly ask 
my advice, it is right I should give you the best counsel 
in my power — which is, that you select three hundred 
ships from the fleet, and send them to the coast of La- 
conia : oft" that coast there is an island named Cy thera, 
which Chilon, a man reputed among us on account of his 
eminent wisdom, affirmed had better, for the welfare of 
Sparta, be merged in the sea, than remain above water ; 
for he anticipated from it continually some such mischief 
as I am about to mention : — not that he foresaw your 
armament ; but he feared any such expedition. Let then 
your forces, issuing from that island, keep the Lacedae- 

(235) 



AND REPLY OF ACH/EMENES. 579 

monians in alarm. For while the war is brought home to 
them, there will be no fear of their sending aid to the 
other parts of Greece that may be attacked by your army ; 
and if the rest of Greece is vanquished, Lacedaemon, left 
alone, will be feeble. If you take not this course, what 
you have to expect is this : — the Peloponnesus has a 
narrow isthmus ; at that spot all the Peloponnesians will 
combine their forces to resist you, and you may anticipate 
contests still more determined than those that have 
already taken place. But if you follow my advice, you 
may make yourself master, unresisted, of the isthmus, 
and the cities within it." 

Achsemenes, brother of Xerxes, and commander of the 
fleet, who happened to be present, and who feared lest 
the king should be prevailed on to adopt the plan pro- 
posed, thus spoke : — " O king, I see you listening to the 
discourse of a man who envies your successes, or even 
who aims at betraying your interests. This is in fact the 
very character of the Greeks ; they envy the prosperous, 
and hate him who is their superior. If in the present 
state of our affairs, and after losing four hundred vessels 
by shipwreck, you send three hundred to cruise on the 
shores of Peloponnesus, the enemy will become a match 
for you. But while the fleet keeps together, it is more 
than they can cope with, nor will they ever be able to 
contend with you : and the fleet and the army advancing 
together will aid each other. On the contrary, if you 
separate them, you will be able to afford no assistance to 
the fleet, nor the fleet to you. Make it your rule then to 
manage well your own affairs, taking no thought for those 
of the enemy — where they will carry the war, what they 
will do, or what their numbers may be, care not. They 
are able to mind their own matters, and we ours. If the 
Lacedaemonians meet the Persians again in the field, 
they shall not repair this one loss they have suffered." 

" Achasmenes," replied Xerxes, " I approve of what 
(237) 2 p 2 



580 INTIMATION CONVEYED 

you say, and will follow your advice. Yet has Dema- 
ratus proposed what he thought best for my interests, 
though his opinion must cede to yours. Nor can I 
regard him as disaffected to my government, for his in- 
tegrity is confirmed by his former statements, and the 
actual eveTit. A man may indeed envy the prosperity of 
a fellow citizen, and cherish against him a silent hatred ; 
nor will he, in such a case, when consulted, give him 
that advice which he really thinks most advantageous ; — 
unless indeed he is one who has made great advances in 
virtue — and such are rare. But nothing is more agree- 
able to a friend than a friend's prosperity, and when con- 
sulted, he will offer his best advice. I therefore command 
all henceforth to abstain from uttering calumnies against 
my friend Demaratus." 

After this conversation Xerxes passed among the slain, 
and Leonidas — whom he had heard to be king and 
general of the Lacedaemonians, he commanded to be 
decapitated, and the body to be affixed to a cross. 
Among many other proofs, this chiefly convinces me that 
Xerxes bore towards Leonidas while living an uncommon 
animosity, for otherwise he would not have violated the 
respect due to the dead, especially as the Persians, 
beyond any people I have known, are accustomed to 
honour military virtue. These orders were executed by 
the proper officers. 

I now return upon the course of the narrative, to 
mention a fact which was omitted in its place. The Lace- 
daemonians were the first who had learned that the king 
was preparing to invade Greece, and in consequence they 
sent to consult the Delphic oracle, and received the 
response which I have just now reported. They acquired 
this information m a remarkable manner. —Demaratus, 
son of Ariston, taking refuge with the Medes, was not, 
I think — at least if I reason on probabilities, very well 
affected towards the Lacedaemonians; there is room 

(239) 



TO THE SPARTANS. 5S1 

therefore to question whether it was with a good inten- 
tion, or rather in mockery, that he acted as he did ; for 
being at Susa when Xerxes formed the design of invad- 
ing Greece, and being informed of what was going on, 
he determined to send intelligence of it to the Lace- 
daemonians, and having no other mode of conveying the 
news, for there was great danger of his being detected, 
he devised the following means. — He took a folding tablet 
{pocket book — deXnov cWtu^ov) and scraping off the wax, 
inscribed upon the bare wood of the tablet the intention 
of the king : having so done, he covered the writing with 
wax, so that he who was to carry it might have nothing to 
fear from the guards upon the road. When the tablet 
was brought to Sparta, the Lacedaemonians were unable 
to guess why it had been sent, until, as I am informed, 
Gorgo, daughter of Cleomenes, and wife of Leonidas, 
gave them the hint, and directed the wax to be removed, 
when, as she said, writing would be discovered on the 
wood. They did so, and found the writing, and commu- 
nicated the information so obtained to the other Greeks. 
Such is the story told by the Spartans. 



2 p 3 



BOOK VIIL 



URANIA, 



SECTION I. 

ENGAGEMENTS AT ARTEMISIUM. STORM. RETREAT 
OF THE GRECIAN FLEET. 

The Greeks composing the fleet were these — The 
Athenians, with one hundred and twenty-seven ships, 
manned in part by Plataeans, whose courage and spirit 
induced them to discharge this duty, though unaccus- 
tomed to the sea service. The Corinthians furnished 
forty ships; the people of Megara twenty; the Chal- 
cidians manned twenty vessels, furnished to them by the 
Athenians. The iEginetans had eighteen, the Sicyonians 
twelve, the Lacedaemonians ten, the Epidaurians eight, 
the Eretrians seven, the Troezenians five, the Styrians 
two, the people of Ceos two ships, and two penteconters ; 
and lastly, the Opuntian Locrians came in aid with seven 
penteconters. These then were the Greeks forming the 
fleet stationed at Artemisium ; and these, as I have 
recounted them, were the numbers severally furnished 
by each people. The entire number of vessels there 
collected, the penteconters excepted, was two hundred 
and seventy one. It was the Spartans who appointed 
Eurybiades, son of Euryclides, to the supreme command 
of the fleet ; for the allies had declared " that unless 

(2) 



CONSULTATIONS AMONG THE CREEKS. 583 

they were placed under a Lacedaemonian chief, or if 
required to follow Athenian leaders, the intended com- 
bined fleet Would disperse." 

From the first, and before the messengers were sent to 
Sicily to solicit an alliance, it had been proposed as proper 
to yield the command to the Athenians. But as the 
allies opposed this arrangement, the Athenians conceded 
the point, for they earnestly desired the salvation of 
Greece, and felt persuaded that it must fall if contes- 
tations for command should arise ; and herein they thought 
justly : — for civil contentions are as much worse than war, 
Carried on in concert by allies, as war is worse than 
peace. They, convinced of this truth, made no oppo- 
sition, but rather yielded precedency so long as the urgent 
need of their services existed, and so long only ; — as they 
afterwards manifested ; for when the Persian was re- 
pulsed, they strove for the ascendency, and holding forth 
as a pretext the arrogance of Pausanius, they took the 
supreme command from the Lacedaemonians. But this 
happened long afterwards. 

To return to the time of our history. — The Greeks who 
arrived at Artemisium, when they saw so numerous a 
fleet collected at Aphetae, and all fully manned ; and when 
they perceived that the affairs of the Barbarians were 
taking a turn which they had not expected, were filled 
with alarm, and consulted on the expediency of retiring 
from Artemisium towards the inner part of Greece.* 
The Euboeans having knowledge of this consultation, 
entreated Eurybiades to remain a short time, until they 
had placed in security their children and domestics. Not 
prevailing with him, they went to the Athenian com- 
mander Themistocles, whom they induced to yield by a 
present of thirty talents, for which sum he engaged that 

* eats) eq -7)v EXXa&i means the shoves and waters of the Saronic 
Argolic and Corinthian gnlphs, the Corinthian Isthmus being considered 
as the central point of Greece. 

(4) 2 p 4 



584 MEASURES OF THEMISTOCLES. 

the fleet should remain off Euboea, and there meet the 
enemy. Themistocles retained the Greeks by the fol- 
lowing means: — Of the money received, he gave five 
talents to Eurybiades — no doubt as if from himself, and he 
being thus gained over, there remained only Adimantus, 
son of Ocytus, the Corinthian general, who resisted — de- 
claring he should sail away from Artemisium, and remain 
no longer. Themistocles addressed himself to him, con- 
firming what he said with an oath — " You shall not leave 
us, for I will give you more than the king of the Medes 
would confer upon you for deserting the allies " So 
saying, he sent three talents of silver on board the ship of 
Adimantus. These commanders being swayed by the 
gifts, yielded to the arguments of Themistocles, and so 
the wishes of the Eubceans were complied with : mean- 
while Themistocles, by retaining in secrecy the rest of the 
money, greatly enriched himself; and those who received 
the sums mentioned, doubted not that the money came 
from Athens, and was destined to be thus employed. 

By this means the Greeks remained off Euboea, and 
an engagement took place as shall now be related. — The 
Barbarians arrived at Aphetae at the dawn of day ; they 
had already been informed that a small number of Greek 
ships hovered about at Artemisium, and now seeing them, 
they were all eagerness to attack, and, no doubt, to take 
them. Yet they thought it not advisable to sail directly 
up to them, lest the Greeks, seeing them advance, should 
betake themselves to flight, and at night actually 
escape:— for, to use the proverbial phrase, they thought 
not even the torch-bearer should survive.* 

To effect their object, they selected two hundred ships 

* An officer bearing a torch in the army as a signal for its move- 
nienfs. He was deemed sacred to Mars, and therefore usually spared 
even in the most merciless slaughters. The total destruction of an 
army was proverbially expressed by saying— not even the torch-bearer 
survived 

(7) 



SCYLLIAS, THE DIVER. 585 

from the whole fleet, and sent them round, outward of 
Sciathus — that they might not be seen by the enemy — 
to make the circuit of Euboea, by the headlands of 
Capharea and Geraestus, to the Euripus, and so to enclose 
the Greeks : for while these two hundred ships would 
prevent their retreat, the main fleet was to attack them 
in front. This plan being arranged, the vessels appointed 
for the service were despatched, and the Persians deter- 
mined not to approach the Greeks during the day ; nor 
indeed till, by the signal agreed, they knew that the 
detachment had reached its destination. While this 
detachment proceeded on its way, the rest of the fleet at 
Aphetse was numbered. 

There was in the fleet at the time when this numbering 
took place, a Scionian, named Scyllias, reckoned the 
most expert diver of his times. After the shipwreck 
which happened off Mount Pelion, he had recovered a 
great amount of precious articles for the Persians, and 
much he had converted to his own use. This Scyllias 
had long entertained the design of going over to the 
Greeks, but hitherto had not found opportunity to do so, 
nor can I positively affirm in what manner he now arrived 
among them, for the story commonly related seems to 
me — if true — most astonishing. It is said that diving 
into the sea at Aphetae, he did not emerge until he 
reached Artemisium, a distance through the sea of about 
eighty furlongs ! Among some things which are true, 
many such like fabulous accounts are current concerning 
this man. If I were to declare my own opinion on the 
point, I should say that he came to Artemisium in a 
small vessel. Immediately on his arrival, he made 
known to the Grecian chiefs the circumstances of the late 
shipwreck, and also the fact that a detachment had been 
sent round Eubcea. 

The Greeks on receiving this intelligence, held a con- 
ference ; and after much debate, it was resolved to 
(9) 



58G PRELIMINARY ENCOUNTERS. 

remain at their station through that day ; but to depart 
after midnight, and to prevent the fleet that was sailing 
round the island. This resolution being formed, as the 
enemy did not advance, they, about three hours after 
noon, sailed towards the Barbarians, intending only to 
make trial of the fight, and of their practice of breaking 
the enemy's line* The commanders and men in the fleet 
of Xerxes, seeing the Greeks advance with so few ships, 
deemed them to be absolutely mad, and formed their own 
line, not doubting to make of them an easy prey. Nor 
were their expectations unfounded in probability, for 
while they beheld the few ships of the Greeks, they con- 
templated their own much superior numbers, and knew 
their own vessels to sail better than those of the enemy. 
Under these impressions, they formed their line so as to 
surround the Greeks. And now those of the Ionians who 
were well affected towards the Greeks, very reluctantly 
took part in the engagement, and with extreme sorrow 
beheld them thus surrounded, not thinking it possible that 
any could escape ;— -so inconsiderable did the Grecian 
forces appear to them. On the other hand, there were 
those who viewed with high satisfaction what was taking 
place, and contended with each other for the honour of 
being the first to capture a ship of Attica, and so to re- 
ceive a reward from the king. The Athenians were in 
higher esteem than any other of the Greeks among the 
Barbarians. 

The signal being given, the Greeks, in the first place, 
opposed their prows to the enemy's line, keeping their 
sterns inwards {converging). At the second signal, they 
commenced the attack, though pressed within a narrow 
space, and captured thirty ships from the Barbarians : on 
board of one of them was Philaon, son of Chersis* and 
brother of Gorgus, king of the Salaminians, a person of 
high repute in the army. The first ship taken from the 
enemy was captured by Lycomedes, son of iEschreas, an 

(11) 



STORM AROUND PELION. 587 

Athenian, and he obtained the palm of valour. The ad- 
vantages did not absolutely preponderate on either side in 
this engagement ; and when night came on, the com- 
batants parted. The Greeks returning to Artemisium, 
the Barbarians to Aphetae — the issue of the contest 
falling far short of their expectations. The only person 
among the Greeks in the king's service, who deserted to 
the Greeks on this occasion was Antidorus, a Lemnian. 
The Athenians granted to him lands in Salamis as a 
reward for his conduct. 

It was at midsummer that these events took place, and 
as the evening drew on, there fell torrents of rain, which 
continued through the night, with harsh peals of thunder 
from Pelion. At the same time the bodies of the dead, 
with the fragments of the wrecks, were borne on the 
waves to Aphetae, and circling the prows of the ships, 
embarrassed the palms of the oars ; and the men, seized 
with terror in hearing {the thunder), believed that utter 
destruction awaited them: — such were the ills that 
surrounded them ! For ere they had had breathing time 
after the wreck and storm which happened off Pelion, a 
fierce engagement had met them ; and now immediately 
after the fight, came the impetuous rain, and mighty cur- 
rents of the sea, and harsh thunderings ! Such was this 
night to the Barbarians ! 

The ships despatched to make the circuit of Euboea 
suffered so much the more rudely from this night, as the 
storm fell upon them while in the open sea ; and to them 
the issue was indeed sad ; for in the midst of their course 
the hurricane and torrent of rain overtook them, just as 
they were off the recesses of Euboea.* Borne onwards 
by the winds, and not knowing whither— they were cast 

* A part of the eastern coast where the land recedes, and which 
abounds with rocks, much dreaded by the ancient mariner.— They 
have been erroneously marked by some moderns on the western side of 
the island. 

(13) 



588 ENGAGEMENT AT 

on the rocks. All this happened under a divine direction, 
that so the Persian fleet might be brought to an equality 
with the Grecian ; or at least that it might not be greatly 
superior. Thus then these vessels perished about the 
recesses of Euboea. 

The Barbarians at Aphetae welcomed the appearance of 
day, and kept their ships at their stations, and thought 
themselves happy, after what they had suffered, to remain 
for the present in quietness. Meanwhile the Greeks had 
received the succour of fifty-three fresh ships from 
Attica. Thus reinforced, and encouraged also by the 
news that not one of the Barbarian fleet that was making 
the circuit of Euboea had escaped destruction in the 
storm, the Greeks, after waiting to the same hour as 
before, sailed, and fell upon the ships of the Cilicians, 
which they destroyed, and at close of day returned to 
Artemisium. 

On the third day the Barbarian commanders, greatly 
troubled at sustaining so much damage from so small a 
fleet, and fearing also the displeasure of Xerxes, did not 
again wait till the Greeks commenced the attack, but 
about mid-day — cheering each other, they led on. It 
happened the very same days in which these encounters 
between the fleets took place, the combats at Ther- 
mopylae were also carried on ; and as the point in dispute 
at sea was the passage of the Euripus, so was the pre- 
servation of the pass of Thermopylae the object of Leo- 
nidas and his companions ; and while the Greeks encour- 
aged each other in the endeavour to prevent the Bar- 
barians from entering Greece, the Barbarians endea- 
voured, by destroying the Greek forces to gain possession 
of the passes. 

While the fleet of Xerxes was forming the line of 
battle, the Greeks remained unmoved at Artemisium, and 
the Barbarians, ranging their ships in a crescent, sur- 
rounded the Greeks as if to capture them all. Instantly 

(16) 



ARTEMISIUM. 589 

the Greeks advanced and gave battle. In this engage- 
ment the forces actually opposed were nearly equal ; for 
in the fleet of Xerxes the number of vessels was such 
that they fell foul of each other, and much embarrassment 
took place in effecting all their movements. Yet they 
maintained the fight, nor gave way, for it seemed an 
insufferable shame to be put to flight by so small a fleet. 
Many of the Grecian ships were destroyed, and many of 
their crews ; yet a still greater loss of ships and men was 
sustained by the Barbarians. After the combat had been 
thus continued, the fleets separated. 

Among all the forces of Xerxes the Egyptians distin- 
guished themselves the most in this action. Besides 
other remarkable achievements they captured five Gre- 
cian ships with the men on board. Among the Greeks, 
on this day, the Athenians behaved with the greatest 
valour, and of the Athenians none surpassed Clineas, son 
of Alcibiades, who commanded a ship of his own, carrying 
two hundred men, maintained at his personal ex pence. 
Both parties separated and repaired to their several 
stations gladly. The Greeks retired from the fight mas- 
ters both of their dead and of their wrecked vessels. 
But they had been so roughly handled, especially the 
Athenians, one half of whose ships were disabled, that 
they determined * (or proposed) to retreat to the interior 
of Greece. 

Themistocles was convinced that if the people of Ionia 
and Caria were detached from the Barbarian, the Greeks 
would be well able to overthrow the others. While 
therefore the Eubceans were driving their cattle down to 
the sea side, he convoked, at the same place, the com- 
manders, and told them he believed he had a handle for 
depriving the king of the bravest of his allies : thus far 
only he revealed his intention ; but added, that in the 

zfiovXivov— or f.ftnvXevwTn. 

(19) 



590 STRATAGEM PRACTISED 

actual position of affairs, every one would do well to 
kill as many of the cattle of the Euboeans as he thought 
proper ; for it was better they should supply their own 
army, than fall into the hands of the enemy. Further- 
more he advised them to command their people to kindle 
fires; and he undertook to arrange the fittest time for 
their safe return to Greece. 

The Euboeans had utterly disregarded as of no import, 
the oracle of Bacis ; nor had they, as if in expectation of 
war, either transported their effects, or collected stores ; 
and by these neglects they brought upon themselves the 
greater derangement of their affairs. The oracle of 
Bacis relating to them was as follows : — 

" Mind him — Barbarian-tongued — who yokes the main 
With bands of Byblos : — then let the Eubcean swain 
Urge all his bleating goats from off the plain." 

But they, not availing themselves of these verses, either 
in their immediate or impending calamities, suffered of 
course the greatest misfortunes. While these trans- 
actions were in progress, a courier (or x scout) arrived from 
Trachis. The Greeks had one also stationed at Arte- 
misium — Polyas of Anticyra, who was provided with a 
swift sailing galley, in order that, in the event of an 
engagement (or defeat) he might announce it to the army 
at Thermopylae ; and in like manner Abronychus, son of 
Lysicles, an Athenian, attended upon Leonidas, having 
at command a trieconter, that he might convey to the 
fleet at Artemisium intelligence of any disaster happening 
to the army. This Abronychus arriving at Artemisium, 
related what had befallen Leonidas and his troops. 
On learning this news, they thought no more of de- 
laying their departure ; but retired in the order in which 
they were stationed — the Corinthians first, and the Athe- 
nians last. 

Themistocles selecting from the Athenian fleet some 
fast-sailing ships, proceeded to the several watering 

(22) 



BY THEMISTOCLES. 591 

places, where he caused inscriptions to be engraved upon 
stones, which the Ionians coming up the next day to 
Artemisium would read ; these inscriptions were to this 
effect — " Ionians, you do wrong in making war upon 
your fathers, and in aiding to reduce Greece to slavery. 
Rather than act thus, come over to us, or if that be im- 
practicable, at least hold yourselves as neuter, and entreat 
the Carians to do the same. But if neither of these 
courses is open to you, and if an absolute necessity binds 
you not to revolt, then, when we meet in battle, use not 
your best endeavours against us ; remembering that from 
us you derive your origin, and that it was on your account 
that we first incurred the animosity of the Barbarian." 
Thus wrote Themistocles, as it seems to me, with a 
double intention ; for he thought that if the inscriptions 
remained unknown to the king, he might by this means 
induce the Ionians to change sides and join the Greeks ; 
< if, on the contrary, the writing was communicated, 
and became the occasion of an accusation against the 
Ionians to Xerxes, it would render them suspected, so 
that he would dismiss them from the fleet in time of an 
engagement. 



SECTION II. 

DISCOMFITURE OF THE BARBARIANS AT DELPHI. 

Immediately after Themistocles had left these in- 
scriptions, a certain Histiaean arrived in a bark among 
the Barbarians, and announced the retreat of the Greeks 
from Artemisium. They, doubting the truth of his 
report, held him in custody, and despatched some swift 
vessels to look out. These returning with a confirmation 
of the fact, the whole fleet, in compact order, proceeded 
(23) 



592 ARTIFICE OF XERXES. 

at break of day to Artemisium, where they remained at 
anchor until mid-day, and then sailed to Histiaea, of which, 
and the city, they took possession, and overran the district 
of Ellopia, and all the villages along the shores of the 
Histiasan territory. While the fleet was in this station, 
Xerxes having made his preparations with the bodies of 
the slain, sent a herald to the fleet. The preparations he 
had made were of this sort ; — Out of the twenty thousand 
of his own army that were killed at Thermopylae, he 
reserved about one thousand, and interred all the others 
in trenches, which he caused to be dug, and over which 
he strewed leaves and heaped earth, so as effectually 
to conceal them from those who should come from the 
fleet. This done, the herald arriving at Histiasa, con- 
voyed an assembly of the whole naval army, whom he 
thus addressed — " Fellow soldiers ! Xerxes the king 
gives permission to all who please, to leave their ranks, 
and come, that they may see in what sort he has dealt 
with the senseless men who had imagined that they could 
overcome the royal power." 

After this proclamation had been made, nothing be- 
came more scarce than vessels of all kinds — so great was 
the number of those who desired to witness the spectacle !, 
Passing across the channel, they traversed the field of 
battle, and contemplated the dead, and supposed all to 
be either Lacedaemonians or Thespians, though many of 
those they saw were helots. But none were deceived by 
the artifice Xerxes had used in disposing of his own 
dead ; for it was altogether ridiculous — a thousand bodies 
of the Barbarians appearing on one side, and four thou- 
sand heaped together in one place on the other! The 
day was occupied in this inspection of the dead ; 
and on the morrow, those who had come over, returned 
to the fleet at Histicea, while the army under Xerxes 
marched forwards. 

At this time a small number of Arcadians, destitute of 

(26) 



SPEECH OF TRITANTjECHMES. 593 

the means of living, and desirous of employment, came 
over to the Persians. They were brought into the royal 
presence, and were asked by some one of the Persians 
what the Greeks were doing. They replied — " Celebrat- 
ing the Olympic games, and witnessing the gymnastic 
combats, and the horse-racing." The Persian who had 
put the question then asked what the prize might be 
which was proposed as the reward of the combat ; and was 
answered — " The prize given is a crown of olive." On 
hearing this, Tritantsechmes, son of Artabanus, uttered a 
noble sentiment, which however cost him the imputation 
of fear on the part of the king. For when he learned 
that a crown, and not money, was the prize proposed to 
the victors, he could no longer keep silence, but exclaimed 
before all — " Alas Mardonius ! against what sort of men 
are you leading us to fight, who contend, not for money 
but for honour !" 

During these transactions, and presently after the 
carnage at Thermopylae;, the Thessalians sent a herald to 
the Phocians, towards whom they had always borne a 
grudge, which was much aggravated by a recent defeat. 

[For not many years before this invasion by the king, the 
Thessalians with their entire forces, and their allies, had in- 
vaded tke Phocians, by whom they were beaten and very 
severely handled. The Phocians were shut in upon Mount 
Parnassus, having with them the diviner Te'llias of Elis, 
who_ contrived for them the following stratagem. — Six hun- 
dred of the bravest Phocians were plastered with gypsum- — 
they and their arms, and sent to attack the Thessalians by 1 night, 
with orders to put to the sword all that were not white like 
themselves. The Thessalian watch, who first saw them, were 
frightened, supposing what they beheld to be a prodigy; the 
others took the same alarm, «<> that thp Pfioomns effected a 
slaughter of 4000 men, whose bucklers they took: — half of 
these they dedicated at Abas, and a half at Delphi, and from a 
(27) 2 q 



594 QUARREL OF TUT. TFTESSALIANS AND PHOCIANS. 

tythe of the money obtained after this encounter, they formed 
those large statues which stand near the tripod, in front of the 
temple at Delphi, and others like them at Abas. 

In this manner, did the Phocians treat the Thessalian in- 
fantry by whom they were surrounded ; and as for the 
cavalry that invaded their territory, they inflicted upon them 
an irreparable blow. — In the defile near Hyampolis, they dug 
a spacious pit, in which they placed empty jars; and strewing 
earth over them, made the surface like that around the 
excavation. There they waited the attack of the Thessalians - , 
who, fiercely charging the Phocians, fell in upon the jars, and 
the horses broke their legs.] 

Having then these two grounds of animosity, the 
Thessalians sent their herald with this message : — " Pho- 
cians ! better taught by proof of combat, you now find 
yourselves to be not a match for us. Formerly, and 
while we thought good to take part with the Greeks, we 
were always your superiors 1 and now we have so much 
influence with the king, that it is at our option to deprive 
you of your territory, and to sell you as slaves. Yet 
though all this is in our power, we will not remember pas/- 
injuries, but on condition that you atone for them by 
giving us fifty talents of silver, we will pledge ourselves 
to you to avert from your country the ills that impend 
over it." Such was the proposition of the Thessalians. 
The Phocians were the only people of that region who 
did not take part with the Medes ; and I am seriously of 
opinion, that the course they adopted was attributable 
to nothing but their enmity to the Thessalians ; and had 
the Thessalians joined the Greeks, the Phocians would, I 
think, have gone over to the Medes. On this occasion, 
they declared they would not give the money — and said 
that, if so liaolinprl, they rmil<3, as easily as the Thessa- 
lians had done, take part with the Medes. But never 
would they willingly become the betrayers of Greece. 

(30) 



DEVASTATION OF PHOCIS. 595 

When this answer was brought back, it so enraged the 
Thessalians against the Phocians, that they became guides 
to the Barbarian, and led the army from Trachinia into 
Doris. The narrow neck {foot) of territory belonging to 
Doris extends itself here to the width of about thirty 
furlongs, between the Malian and Phocian lands ; it was 
formerly called Dryopis. This .region is the mother 
country of the Dorians of Peloponnesus. In passing 
through it the Barbarians, at the suggestion of the Thes- 
salians, abstained from pillage ; indeed the inhabitants 
had declared for the Medes. 

When on leaving Doris they entered Phocis, they 
found no inhabitants to become their captives ; for some 
had gone up to the heights of Parnassus, the summit 
of which, called Tithorea, near the city Neon, is capable 
of receiving commodiously a large assemblage of per- 
sons ; hither therefore a portion of the Phocians had 
ascended, carrying with them their effects. But the 
greater number of them had gone to Amphissa, a city of 
the Ozolian Locrians, which is situated above the plain of 
Crisasus. The Barbarians however overran the whole 
Phocian territory, into which the Thessalians led them, 
carrying fire wherever they went, and cutting down the 
trees. They burned also the cities and the temples. 
Pursuing the course of the Cephissus, they pillaged the 
whole country, and burned, on the one side, Drymus, on 
the other Caradra, Erochus, Tethronium, Ainphicaea, 
Neon, Pediea, Tritea, Elatea, Hyampolis, Parapotamium , 
and Abas, at which last city there was a temple of Apollo, 
very rich in treasures, and replete with a multitude 
of dedicated articles. There was then, as at present, 
an oracle at the temple. This temple they pillaged and 
burned, and having- pursued some of the Phocians. made 
them prisoners near the mountains : some women also 
fell into their hands, who perished from the treatment 
they received. 
(33) 2 q 2 



596 ATTEMPT AND DEFEAT OF THE 

The Barbarians, after passing by the Parapotamians, 
came to Panopea, where the army separated into two 
divisions, of which the most numerous and efficient, under 
Xerxes himself, proceeded towards Athens, and on its 
way entered Bceotia, by the territory of the Orchomenians. 
The general body of the Boeotians had surrendered to 
the Medes, and their cities were saved by means of Mace- 
donians stationed in them by Alexander. In this way it 
was certified to Xerxes that the Boeotians truly affected 
the Median interests. This was the road taken by the 
principal division of the Barbarians. 

The other division, under the conduct of guides, pro- 
ceeded towards the temple of Delphi : they kept Mount 
Parnassus on their right, and whatever fell in their way 
they pillaged. The city of the Panopians they burned, 
as well as those of the Daulians and iEolians. The 
intention of this detachment of the army was the plun- 
dering of the temple of Delphi, that its treasures might 
be presented to Xerxes, who, as I have been told, had 
a better knowledge of what this temple contained most 
remarkable, than of what he had left behind him at home. 
For there were many about him who continually described 
them — and particularly the offerings of Croesus, son of 
Alyattes. 

The Delphians on being informed of the approach of the 
enemy, were greatly dismayed, and with extreme alarm 
inquired at the oracle concerning the sacred treasures — 
whether they should hide them in the earth, or transport 
them to some other country. But the god would not 
suffer them to be moved, saying, " that he was able to 
defend his own." On hearing this answer, the Delphians 
thought only of their own affairs. Their children and 
their wives they sent across to Achaia, and themselves, 
for the most part, ascended the summit of Parnassus, and 
carried their effects to the cavern of Corycium. Some 
of them slipped away to Amphissa in Locris. Thus 

(36) 



BARBARIANS AT DELPHI. 597 

all the Delphians left the city, except sixty men and the 
prophet. 

While the Barbarians were approaching - , and were even 
so near as to be within sight of the temple, the prophet, 
whose name was Aceratus, beheld the arms laid in front 
of the fane, having- been conveyed from the interior of 
the sacred edifice. These arms it was unlawful for 
any mortal even to touch. He went and announced 
this prodigy to the Delphians that were at hand. 
But when the Barbarians hastening their march came 
near the temple of the Pronsean Minerva, prodigies still 
greater than this happened to them. It was indeed won- 
derful in the extreme that the martial furniture should — 
self-moved — appear lying without the temple ; but to 
this, other prodigies succeeded — and such as, beyond any 
other supernatural occurrences, are worthy of admiration. 
For at the moment when the Barbarians reached the 
temple of Minerva Pronaea, thunder-bolts fell upon them 
from heaven ; and from Parnassus two towering masses of 
rock burst away, and with a loud crash bearing down 
upon them, killed great numbers, while from the interior 
of the temple was heard a voice and the shout of war. 

These commingled alarms smote the Barbarians with 
terror, and the Delphians, learning that they fled, fol- 
lowed and put great numbers to the sword. Those that 
survived retreated directly into Boeotia. It was asserted, 
as I am informed, by those of them who returned, that 
besides the prodigies already mentioned, they beheld 
other appearances ; for two personages in complete armour, 
and of stature surpassing the height of man, followed and 
slaughtered them. The Delphians say that these were 
the tutelary heroes — Phylacus and Autonous, to whom 
are consecrated the sacred enclosures near the temple — 
that of Phylacus, by the road a»do, above the temple of 
Minerva : — that of Autonous, near the Castalian foun- 
tain, beneath the summit called Hyampia. The rocks 
(39) . 2 Q 3 



598 DESERTION OF ATHENS. 

which fell from Parnassus were even in my time preserved 
in the enclosure of the temple of Minerva, where they 
rested after passing through the Barbarian ranks. Such 
were the circumstances under which this detachment was 
repulsed from the temple. 



SECTION III. 

ALTERCATIONS OF THE GRECIAN CHIEFS AT 
SALAMIS. 

The Grecian fleet after leaving Artemisium, took up its 
station, at the request of the Athenians, near Salamis, 
The reason of the request on the part of the Athenians 
was this, that they might transport their children and 
wives from Attica, and also that a consultation might be 
held among them on the course that ought to be pursued ; 
for being deceived in their expectations, it was necessary 
that the existing state of things should be met by new 
counsels. They had indeed hoped to find the Pelopon- 
nesians in full force in Boeotia, prepared to oppose the 
Barbarian; but in fact nothing of this kind was to be 
seen, and they were informed that the Peloponnesians, 
regardless of all the rest of Greece, and mindful only of 
the safety of Peloponnesus, were occupied in constructing 
a wall across the Isthmus. It was then, on receiving this 
information, that the Athenians entreated the' allies to 
remain near Salamis. 

The others therefore anchored off the island, while the 
Athenians wont home, and im^oJiacely after their arrival 
made proclamation to this effect : — " That whoever of the 
Athenians was able to do so, should save his children and 

(41) 



MUSTER OF THE GRECIAN FLEET. 599 

domestics in what manner he pleased." Presently the 
greater part sent their families to Troezen ; while some 
sent theirs to iEgina, and some to Salamis. This 
evacuation was accomplished with the more diligence, 
from the wish to obey the oracle (p. 533) nor was it a 
little promoted by the following circumstance. The 
Athenians affirm that an enormous serpent dwells in the 
temple (of Minerva) as guardian of the Acropolis ; — so 
they assert ; and as if it were actually there, they place 
for it monthly offerings, which consist of honey cakes. 
These honey cakes had always hitherto been consumed ; 
but were now untouched. The priestess having made 
known the fact, the Athenians with so much the more 
readiness abandoned the city ; since the divinity had 
deserted the Acropolis. When they had placed all their 
property in safety, they proceeded to join the fleet. 

After the fleet from Artemisium was known to have 
taken its station at Salamis, the other ships of the Greeks 
joined it from Troezen : for at Pogon, on the Troezenian 
coasts, they had been appointed to assemble. And now a 
much larger number of ships was collected together 
than had taken part in the engagement at Artemi- 
sium ; — and they came also from more states. The com- 
bined fleet was still, as at Artemisium, under the command 
of Eurybiades, son of Euryclides, a Spartan, yet not of 
the royal family. The Athenians had now also many 
more and better sailing ships. 

The fleet was thus composed. From Peloponnesus came 
the Lacedaemonians, with sixteen ships. The Corin- 
thians with the same number as at Artemisium. The 
Sicyonians with fifteen, and the Epidaurians with ten. 
The Troszenians five. The Hermionians three. All 
these, excepting; the last, were of Doric and Macednic 
extraction, and proceeded from Erineum, and Pindus, and 
latterly from Dryopis. But the Hermionians are Dryo- 
pians, who were driven from the country now called 
(43) 2 q 4 



600 MUSTER OF THE 

Doris by Hercules and the Malians. Such were the 
forces of the Peloponnesians in the fleet. Those from 
the exterior continent of Greece were — the Athenians, 
whose ships amounted to one hundred and eighty, a 
number equal to that of all the other Greeks together. 
At Salamis they were unaccompanied by the Plateeans — 
for this reason ? — as the Greeks were retiring from Arte- 
misium, and came off Chalcis, the Platasans went ashore 
on the opposite side in Boeotia, in order to put in safety 
their families. While occupied in securing them, they 
were themselves left by the fleet. The Athenians, when 
the country now called Greece was possessed by the 
Pelasgians, were also Pelasgians, and bore the name 
Cranaans ; but under their king, Cecrops, they were 
called Cecropians, and when Erectheus assumed the su- 
preme power, they changed that name for the appellation, 
Athenians. Afterwards Ion, son of Xuthus, being their 
general, the Athenians were from him called Ionians. 

The Megarians had the same force as at Artemisium. 
The Ampraciots afforded their aid with seven ships ; the 
Leucadians with three— these were a Doric tribe from 
Corinth. Of the islanders, the iEginetans furnished 
thirty ships: they had others fully equipped, but re- 
tained them for the guard of their island. These thirty 
(or forty-two) ships which fought at Salamis, were the 
best sailers. The people of iEgina are Dorians from 
Epidaurus ; the island was formerly called CEnona. Next 
to the iEginetans came the Chalcidians, with the twenty 
ships they had had at Artemisium; and the Eretrians 
with their seven — these are Ionians. Then came the 
Cei'ans, with the same as before ; — they are of the Ionic 
race, and from Athens. The Naxians had four ships ; 
these had been sent by the people to join the Medes, like 
the other islanders ; out disregarding their orders, they 
joined the Greeks : this was effected by the manage- 
ment of Democritus, a distinguished citizen of Naxos, 

(46) 



GRECIAN FLEET. 601 

and who was then a trierarch. The Naxians are 
Ionians, sprung from the Athenians. The Styrians had 
now the same ships as at Artemisium. The Cythnians 
one, and a penteconter : — both these people are Dryopians. 
The Seriphians, the Siphnians, ancl the Malians, also 
served in the fleet, and these alone of the islanders had 
not sent earth and water to the Barbarian. 

The forces of these people, all of them inhabiting the 
parts of Greece within {south of) Thesprotia and the 
Acheron, were now present. It is the Thesprotians who 
border upon the Ampraciots, and the Leucadians, and these 
were the most remote of those that took part in the war ; 
for of all who dwell beyond these, none gave aid to Greece 
in her time of peril, except the Crotonians, with a single 
ship. This vessel was commanded by Phayllus, a man who 
had three times been victor in the Pythian games. The 
Crotonians derive their origin from Achaia. All furnished 
triremes except the Malians, the Siphnians, and the Seri- 
phians, who brought penteconters. The Malians, a branch 
of the Lacedaemonians, had two. The Siphnians and Seri- 
phians, both Ionians from Athens, had each one. The 
entire numbers of the fleet, exclusive of the penteconters, 
was three hundred and seventy eight. 

When the commanders from the several states above- 
mentioned were assembled at Salamis, a council was held 
on the proposition of Eurybiades, in which every one was 
to declare his opinion and wishes on the question — which 
among q\\ the places still in their power, was the most 
advantageous for a naval engagement. For Attica was 
already lost : — the question could therefore relate only to 
what was left to them. Among the opinions advanced, 
that which obtained the greater number of suffrages was — 
That they should proceed to the Isthmus, and engage 
the enemy in advance of Peloponnesus ; autl this pro- 
position was thus defended— "that if they should be 
defeated while at Salamis, they must be besieged in 
(49) 



002 SIEGE AND REDUCTION 

the island, where no succour could reach them ; but 
if at the Isthmus, they might severally repair to their 
homes." 

While the Peloponnesian commanders were advancing 
this opinion, an Athenian arrived, bringing the news that 
the Barbarian had actually entered Attica, and was 
devastating all with fire. For the main army under 
Xerxes, taking its course through Bceotia, had burned 
Thespia, the inhabitants of which city had retired into 
Peloponnesus ; and in like manner Plataea, and advanced 
upon the territory of Athens, pillaging all. Thespia and 
Platasa they had burned on the information of the The- 
bans, who said that those cities were opposed to the 
Medes. 

The Barbarians, including the time occupied in crossing 
the Hellespont into Europe, remained one month in that 
neighbourhood, and in three months more reached 
Attica, where they arrived during the arcbonship of Cal- 
liades. They took possession of the city, deserted of its 
inhabitants, except that fhey found some few Athenians 
in the temple {of Minerva) such as the stewards of the 
temple, and certain indigent persons who had fortified 
the entrances to the Acropolis against the invaders, with/ 
stakes. Not only had their poverty prevented their 
transporting themselves to Salamis, but they thought 
themselves to have divined the true meaning of the 
oracle, when the Pythian declared that " the wooden 
fort should be impregnable." And this, not the fieet, 
they believed to be the asylum intended by the 
oracle. 

The Persians posting themselves on the mound, called 
by the Athenians Mars' hill, opposite to the Acropolis, 
besieged it in this manner : — They discharged arrows 
against the defences to which lighted tow was fastened. 
The besieged Athenians continued to defend themselves, 
though reduced to the most extreme misery, and though 

(52) 



OF ATHENS. 603 

deceived in their barricado ; nor would they admit the 
propositions offered them by the Pisistratids for an^ ac- 
commodation. Still they resisted, and among other 
means of defence which they devised was this — that, as 
often as the Barbarians approached the gates, they dis- 
missed enormous stones upon them, so that Xerxes, 
after much time had been spent, felt himself still em- 
barrassed for want of means to reduce the place. - 

At length, in the midst of these perplexities, a way of 
access was made known to the Barbarians — for it was 
inevitable, according to the prediction of the oracle, that 
all the Attic possessions on the main land should be 
reduced by the Persians. In front of the Acropolis, and 
behind the gates and the entrance, and where no guard 
was placed — for it was not thought possible that any 
human being could in that place ascend ; — there, some of 
the Barbarians actually climbed up, though it was an 
impending precipice : — the spot is near the shrine of 
Aglauros, daughter of Cecrops. When the Athenians 
beheld the enemy ascending into the Acropolis, some 
of them threw themselves down from the defences, 
and so perished ; while others fled for refuge to the 
temple. The Persians who had gained the summit first 
of all turned towards the gates {of the temple) which 
they opened ; then they put the suppliants to the sword : 
and after these were all slain, they pillaged the temple, 
and set fire to all the buildings of the Acropolis. 

No sooner had Xerxes made himself completely master 
of Athens, than he despatched a horseman with the 
intelligence to Susa, to announce to Artabanus his pre- 
sent good success. On the second day after the depar- 
ture of the courier, he called together those exiled 
Athenians who attended him, and commanded them to 
ascend the Acropolis, and therfe to offer the accustomed 
sacrifices in their own manner. These commands re- 
sulted perhaps from some vision he might have had, 
(54) 



604 ADVICE OF MNESIPHILUS. 

or perhaps he was seized with compunction for having 
burned the temple. The exiles fulfilled the part as- 
signed to them. The reason of my recording the cir- 
cumstance is this : — There is in the Athenian Acropolis 
a fane dedicated to Erechtheus, commonly called the 
Earth-born {aboriginal), and in this fane there is an 
olive tree, and a pool (SaXaoaa) placed there, as the 
Athenians affirm, by Neptune and Minerva, as testi- 
monials when they wrangled for the possession of the 
country. This olive was burned, together with the tem- 
ple, by the Barbarians ; but the next day after the con- 
flagration, when the Athenians, at the command of the 
king, went up to the temple to sacrifice, they beheld a 
shoot from the stump, sprung up to the height of a 
cubit. — So they affirmed. 

When the Greeks at Salamis were informed that the 
Athenian Acropolis was actually in possession of the 
enemy, they were thrown into such consternation, that 
some of the commanders, without waiting till the affairs 
before the council were arranged, hastened on board 
their ships, and hoisted sail to depart. Meanwhile those 
who remained came to the determination to engage the 
enemy off the Isthmus. Night was now arrived, and 
the commanders breaking up from the council, went 
on board their ships. 

When Themistocles reached his ship he was asked 
by Mnesiphilus, an Athenian, what had been resolved in 
the council, and when answered that it was determined 
to conduct the fleet to the Isthmus, and to engage the 
enemy in advance of Peloponnesus, he thus spoke — " If 
they weigh and remove the fleet from Salamis, there will 
be no engagement at all in defence of any one's country ; 
for every one will make off towards His home. Nor will 
Eurybiades, nor any other person have power to retain 
them, or to prevent the dispersion of the fleet. Thus 
will Greece be lost by mere imprudence. But now, if by 

(57) 



ALTERCATION OF THE CHIEFS. 605 

any means it may be done, instantly make the attempt 
to annul the decision of the council, and endeavour, if 
possible, to induce Eurybiades to alter his determination, 
and remain in this position." Themistocles heartily 
approved of this advice, and without waiting to give any 
answer, repaired to the ship of Eurybiades, where, when 
he arrived along side, he said he wished to confer with 
him on a matter belonging to the common interests. 
Eurybiades directed him to come on board, and say what 
he wished. Themistocles seating himself by him, re- 
peated, as his own opinion, what he had heard from 
Mnesiphilus ; to which he added much more to the same 
effect : and at length prevailed with him, by his entrea- 
ties, to leave his ship, and summon the commanders to 
meet in council. 

When they were assembled, and before Eurybiades 

had laid before them the business on account of 

which he had convoked them, Themistocles discoursed 

largely in support of his advice. While he was thus 

speaking, Adimantus, son of Ocytus, the Corinthian 

general, said — " Themistocles — in the games, those who 

start before others are beaten." To which, in excuse, 

he replied — "But those who remain behind are not 

crowiaed." Thus mildly did he answer the Corinthian. 

But in addressing Eurybiades, he said not a word of what 

he had before mentioned, relative to the dispersion of 

the fleet in case of its leaving Salamis. For it seemed 

not seemly, in the presence of the confederates, to cast an 

imputation upon any one : — he had in readiness another 

argument, and thus spoke — "With you it is now to save 

Greece. This you will effect if, yielding to my advice, 

you remain here and engage the enemy, nor listen to 

those who would have you break up and remove the fleet 

to the Isthmus. Hear and weigh the reasons on both 

sides. In fighting at the Isthmus you engage in an open 

sea, which is especially disadvantageous to us whose 

(60) 



006 SPEECH OF THEMISTOCLES. 

ships are heavier and fewer in number than those of the 
enemy. Besides, you then abandon to destruction Sa- 
lamis, and Megara, and iEgina, even though we should 
be otherwise successful : for the enemy's army will follow 
the advance of the fleet, and thus, while you your- 
self lead the war towards Peloponnesus, you expose the 
whole of Greece to danger. But if you adopt the course 
I recommend, you will find these following advantages. — 
In the first place you will, with a small fleet, contend with 
a large one in a narrow space, which, if the ordinary 
course of things in war takes place, will give us a decided 
advantage ; for to fight in a narrow space is as much our 
interest as to fight in a wide space is theirs. Again ;— 
Salamis will be preserved, where we have placed our 
children and our wives. Moreover, in what I recommend 
there is this advantage, for which indeed you are espe- 
cially solicitous — That 1 in remaining here you defend 
Peloponnesus as effectually as if you retired to the 
Isthmus. If then you are wise, you will not conduct the 
fleet to Peloponnesus. But now if, as I hope, we obtain 
a victory at sea, the Barbarians will neither advance to 
the Isthmus against you, nor penetrate further into 
Attica, but will retire in disorder ; meanwhile we secure 
the benefit of preserving Megara, and iEgina, and Sa- 
lamis, where, according to the prediction, we are to van- 
quish the enemy. When men adopt measures that are in 
conformity with the ordinary course of affairs, they most 
often meet with the wished-for success. But if their 
counsels are opposed to common probability, they will 
find that God is not wont to conform himself to human 
designs." 

Thus spoke Themistocles, and again Adimantus the 
Corinthian attacked him, and enjoined silence upon one 
who, as he said, "had no country;" and he forbad 
Eurybiades to put to the vote the proposition of " a 
cityless man ;" and said he would then require the 

(61) 



DECISION OF THE COUNCIL. G07 

opinion of Themistocles, when he could show that he had a 
city. This reproach he uttered in reference to the cap- 
ture and possession of Athens by the enemy. Themis- 
tocles now spoke with severity of Adimantus and the 
Corinthians, and proved manifestly that he had both a 
city and a country, more considerable than theirs, while 
Athens possessed two hundred ships, fully manned with 
her citizens ; nor were there any of the Greeks who 
could resist them. Then addressing himself to Eury- 
biades with still more intentness, he said, — "You, if you 
remain here, will act the part of a brave man ; but if 
not, you rnin Greece. Our ships are every thing to us 
in this war. — Now therefore yield to my advice. Yet 
should you refuse to do so we, just as we are, will take 
our families on board, and will remove to Siris in Italy, 
an ancient possession of ours, and which, according to 
predictions, is destined to be occupied by us. Then you, 
deserted by such allies, will find occasion to remember 
my words." 

Eurybiades changed his opinion on hearing this speech , 
or, as it seems to me, he changed in terror, lest the Athe- 
nians should leave the confederacy if he moved the fleet 
to the Isthmus. And he knew that, deprived of the 
Athenians, the others would be unable to meet the 
enemy. He therefore adopted the advice of Themistocles, 
and it was decided to engage the enemy at Salamis. 

Such were the altercations that took place among the 
chiefs at Salamis; but when Eurybiades had actually 
decided, they made preparations for the engagement at 
that station. The next day, at sun rise, a trembling 
took place on land and at sea, and it was thought proper 
to pray to the gods, and to invoke the succour of the 
:ZEacids. This was accordingly done ; and after all the 
gods had been addressed with vows, they, from Salamis, 
called upon Ajax and Telamon, and even despatched a ship 
to iEgina for the aid of iEacus and the other iEacids. 
(64) 



608 PRODIGY AT ELEUSIS. 

[Dicaeus, son of Theocydes, an Athenian, and an exile with 
the Medes, and who, at that time, was high in esteem among 
them, gave the following account : — " When Attica was 
devastated by the army of Xerxes, and deserted by the 
Athenians, he happened to be with Demaratus the Lace- 
daemonian, in the Thriasian plain, and saw a cloud of dust 
advancing from Eleusis, as if occasioned by the march of 
about thirty thousand men. They were amazed at seeing the 
dust, and while wondering by whom it could be raised, suddenly 
heard a voice which seemed to him to repeat (the hymn called) 
the mystic Iacchus.* But Demaratus being uninitiated in 
the Eleusinian mysteries, inquired of him what it might be 
that was uttered ; to which he replied — " Demaratus, it 
cannot be but what some great calamity awaits the king's 
army, for it is manifest that Attica, being destitute of men, 
the words uttered are from the divinity, who advancing from 
Eleusis, comes to aid the Athenians and the confederates. 
And now if it turns towards Peloponnesus, there shall be 
peril to the king himself and the army on land; but if 
towards the fleet' at Salamis, then the king is in danger of 
losing the fleet. The Athenians are accustomed every year to 
celebrate this festival to the Mother and the Damsel (Ceres 
and Proserpine). And whoever pleases — of them, or of 
the other Greeks, is then initiated in the mysteries, and the 
words you have heard are the very same that are shouted in 
that very festival." " Hold, silence," replied Demaratus, 
" nor repeat this matter to any one ; for should what you have 
said be reported to the king, you would lose your head ; nor 
would it be in my power, or that of any other to deliver you. 
Be therefore quiet, and the gods will take care of the army." 
Such was the advice given to him by Demaratus. After 
the dust and the voice, there appeared a cloud, which soaring 
aloft, bore away towards Salamis, and towards the camp of 
the Greeks. From which they concluded that the fleet of 
Xerxes was about to be destroyed. This is the account given 
by Dicaeus, son of Theocydes, confirmed by Demaratus and 
others.] 

* A hymn sung in honour of Bacchus. 

(65) 



GOD 



SECTION IV. 

ADVANCE OF THE PERSIAN FLEET. WALL AT THE 
ISTHMUS. STRATAGEM OF THEMISTOCLES. 

After those belonging to the fleet of Xerxes had con- 
templated the slaughter that had been made of the La- 
cedaemonians, they passed over from Trachis to Histisea, 
where they remained three days ; and then sailing through 
the Euripus, in three days more arrived off Phalerum. 
Nor were they, I think, fewer in number, either by land 
or sea, when they reached Attica, than when they arrived 
at Sepias and Thermopylae. For in place of those that 
perished in the tempest, and at Thermopylae, and in the 
engagements at Artemisium, I reckon those who did not 
till afterwards join the king's army; as the Malians, and 
Dorians, and Locrians, and Boeotians, who followed 
Xerxes in a body, excepting only the Thespians and 
Plataeans. Besides, there came, in full force, the Carys- 
tians, the Andrians, the Tenians, and all the other is- 
landers, excepting the five whose names I have before 
mentioned. For the further the Persian penetrated into 
Greece, the greater was the number of the people that he 
led in his train. 

All these then arrived at Athens {and Phalerum), ex- 
cepting the Parians, who remained at Cythnus, awaiting 
the event of the war. When, with this exception, all 
reached Phalerum, Xerxes himself repaired to the fleet, 
in order to converse with the naval commanders, and to 
learn their opinions. On his arrival he seated himself as 
president of the council, at which were present, on his 
summons, the tyrants of the several nations, and the com- 
manders of the fleet, each seated according to the rank 
(67) 2 R 



610 ADVICE OF ARTEMISIA. 

he held in the king's service. First in honour was the 
Sidonian king, next the Tyrian, and so the others ; and 
when all were seated in their order, Xerxes sent Mar- 
donius to sound the dispositions of each, on the question 
of meeting the enemy at sea. Mardonius passing round, 
asked the opinion of each, beginning with the king of 
Sidon : all professed the same opinion, and advised that 
battle should be given — all, except Artemisia, who thus 
spoke : — 

" Tell the king, Mardonius, that I thus speak — My 
lord, as I behaved in no cowardly manner in the engage- 
ments off Eubcea, and achieved actions not inferior to 
those of others, I may fairly now offer my opinion, and 
declare what I think the best course for you to pursue. 
I say then to you — be sparing of your ships, nor engage 
the enemy at sea. For at sea the Greeks are as much 
superior to your people, as men are to women. And what 
need have you at all to hazard an engagement? Do you 
not hold Athens, to possess yourself of which was the 
very intention of the expedition 1 And is not the rest of 
Greece yours ? For none oppose an obstacle to your pro- 
gress : or those who resisted, have they not met the fate 
they merited ? I will now declare what, in my opinion, 
will be the course of events with the enemy. If, instead 
of hastily engaging them at sea, you retain the fleet here 
in shore, or even gradually advance towards Peloponnesus, 
nothing will be more easy for you, my lord, than to attain 
the object you have in view. For the Greeks are not in 
condition to maintain a long resistance ; but you may dis- 
perse them, and they will severally retreat towards their 
cities. As I am informed, they have no great store of 
provisions in this island (Salamis). Nor is it probable 
that, if you march the army towards Peloponnesus, those 
of them who come from thence, will remain unmoved 
here ; nor will they care to fight for the Athenians. But 
on the contrary, should you urge an engagement, I greatly 

(68) 



PREPARATIONS FOR BATTLE. 611 

fear that a defeat of the fleet would bring ruin upon the 
army. Furthermore, O king, consider this, that ordina- 
rily the best masters have the worst servants, and the 
worst masters the best servants ; and thus it is with you, 
who though the very best of men, have among those who 
are reckoned as your allies, some bad servants; — such 
are those worthless Egyptians, and Cyprians, and Ci- 
licians." 

Thus did Artemisia address Mardonius, and all who 
wished her well greatly feared that her speech would 
bring some punishment upon her from the king, whom she 
thus dissuaded from engaging the enemy : while, on the 
other hand, those who entertained any grudge or envy 
against her, on account of the peculiar regard with which 
she was treated, were delighted with her answer, thinking 
it must effect her ruin. But when the several opinions 
were reported to Xerxes, he was exceedingly pleased 
with that of Artemisia; and though hitherto he had 
deemed her a person of great ability, he now extolled her 
in still higher terms. Nevertheless he decided to follow 
the advice of the greater number, and imagining that his 
people had behaved remissly at Eubosa, because he was 
not present, he now made arrangements for being himself 
a witness of the combat. 

The order for sailing being given, the fleet moved 
towards Salamis, and at leisure the ships formed in order 
of battle ; but the day was now too far spent for them to 
commence the engagement, and night coming on, they 
held themselves in readiness to fight on the following 
morning. Meanwhile fear and dismay took possession 
of the Greeks; nor least of the Peloponnesians, who 
thought themselves detained at Salamis merely to fight 
in defence of the territory of the Athenians ; and they 
feared that if defeated, they should be surrounded and 
besieged on the island, while their own country would be 
left defenceless. 
(70) 2 r 2 



012 LABOURS OF THE PELOPONNESJANS. 

During the same night the Barbarian army advanced 
towards Peloponnesus ; but every possible means had 
been used to prevent their penetrating into it by land. 
For instantly after the news of the death of Leonidas and 
his companions at Thermopylae had arrived, the Pelopon- 
nesians flocked together from all their cities to the Isth- 
mus, under the command of Cleombrotus, son of Anax- 
andrides, and brother of Leonidas. Fixing their station 
in the Isthmus, they first raised a rampart of earth on 
the Scironian road, and then, in conformity with their 
previous resolution, began to construct a wall across the 
Isthmus. And the work advanced rapidly; for not a 
man among so many thousands was unemployed, but all 
laboured in aid of the undertaking, by bringing stones, 
and bricks, and timber, and hods of sand ; nor did they 
cease day or night. 

The Greeks who assembled at the Isthmus in a body to 
construct the wall, were these. — The whole of the Lace- 
daemonians and Arcadians ; the Elians, the Corinthians, 
the Sicyonians, the Epidaurians, the Phliasians, the 
Troezenians, and the Hermionians: it was these who, 
fearing for the fate of Greece in its present peril, gave 
their aid on this occasion; while the other people of 
Peloponnesus heeded not the danger, though the Olympic 
and Carneian festivals were now gone by.* 

[Seven nations inhabit Peloponnesus, two of which are 
aboriginal, and still occupy their ancient territory : these 
are the Arcadians and the Cynurians. One of these races— 
the Achaian, has not removed from Peloponnesus, but has 
only passed from its first territory to another. The other four 
of the seven are intruders on the soil, namely, the Dorians, the 
iEtolians, the Dryopians, and the Lemnians. The Dorians 

* These festivals had hitherto furnished a pretext for the backward- 
ness of the Peloponnesians. 

(73) 



DISCONTENTS IN THE GRECIAN FLEET. 613 

possess many celebrated cities; the JEtolians have Elis only; 
the Dryopians have Hermione, and Asina, near Cardamyla of 
Laconia. The Lemnians have all the Paroreates. The Cynu- 
rians, though aborigines, seem to some to be Ionians. — They 
have become Doric by living under the domination of the 
Argives, and by the lapse of time, in like manner as* the 
Orneates, and their neighbours. All the cities of these seven 
nations, excepting those mentioned above, held to a neu- 
trality; or, if permitted to speak freely, I should say they 
held to a neutrality which was in fact a taking part with the 
Medes.] 

The Peloponnesians assembled at the Isthmus la- 
boured with so much earnestness, as considering that their 
only hope depended upon the completion of the work, 
and as despairing of any brilliant achievement on the 
part of the fleet ; while those (of the Peloponnesians) 
who were at Salamis, when informed of what was taking 
place, feared not so much for themselves as for their 
country. For some time they did but whisper, one to 
another, their amazement at the imprudence of Eury- 
biades. But at length their discontent broke forth; a 
conference was held, and much was said to the same 
purport as before ; and while one party declared it to. be 
necessary to sail to Peloponnesus, and rather to risk 
a battle in defence of that, than to remain and fight for a 
country already in the enemy's power, the Athenians, the 
iEginetans, and the Megarians, were for remaining to 
defend the position they then occupie'd. 

When Themistocles understood that the counsels of the 
Peloponnesians were gaining the ascendancy, he with- 
drew unperceived from the assembly, and going out, he 
despatched a messenger to the camp of the Medes, in a 
small vessel, with instructions. The person sent on this 

* we re read for eovtec, as the sense demands. 

(75) 2 r 3 



614 STRATAGEM OF THEMISTOCLES. 

business was named Sicinnus — a slave of Themistocles, 
and the preceptor of his sons,* and who, at a later period, 
received from Themistocles a competent fortune, and 
who, by his influence, was enrolled among the citizens of 
Thespia, when the people of that city were augmenting 
their numbers. When Sicinnus arrived among the Bar- 
barians, he thus addressed the generals. " I am sent 
without the knowledge of the other Greeks, by the 
Athenian general, who in fact affects the king's interests, 
and had rather that you than the Greeks should succeed : 
and I am instructed to inform you that the Greeks, in 
consternation, are at this time resolving upon a retreat. 
Now therefore the opportunity is offered you of achieving 
the most splendid success, and to this end you have only 
to prevent their escape. They are far from accordant 
among themselves ; nor can they again withstand you, and 
you will behold the two parties — those inclined to favour 
you, and those otherwise minded, attacking each other." 
After making this communication, Sicinnus immediately 
retired. 

The Barbarians confiding in the sincerity of this mes- 
sage, in the first place landed a large body of Persians 
on the islet named Psyttalia, which lies between Salamis 
and the main land ; — then at midnight, they brought the 
western wing of the fleet round towards Salamis ; while 
those stationed about Ceos and Cynosura came on so as 
to occupy the whole passage as far as Munychia. This 
they did with the design of cutting off all escape from 
the Greeks, and of investing them upon Salamis, where 
vengeance might be wreaked upon them for the engage- 
ments at Artemisium. The Persians who were landed 
upon Psyttalia, were placed there because this islet, lying 
in the very passage where the engagement was about to 
take place, it would naturally become, during the action, 

* Tutors in opulent families were commonly purchased slaves. 

(76) 



PREDICTION OF BACIS. 615 

a place of refuge, both to men and to disabled ships, in 
which case these Persians might protect their own people, 
and destroy the enemy who should resort to it. These 
arrangements were made in the silence of night, that the 
enemy might know nothing of what was doing, and the 
movements occupied the whole night, to the exclusion of 
any time of repose. 

When I consider these events, I am not prepared to 
deny the truth of oracles, nor shall attempt to controvert 
those which are so explicit as the following : — 

" But when they shall have extended their line of ships 
on the sacred shore of' the golden- quivered , Artemis 
{Diana), and of the sea-girt Cynosura, and when, mad 
with hope, he shall have pillaged the spruce Athens ; then 
the Divine Vengeance {by prosopopoeia) shall repress 
{put out) the mighty Wanton — the son of Arrogance, 
who, with a dire ambition, shall think to sway the uni- 
verse. Brass shall meet with brass (the beaks of the ships), 
and Mars shall empurple the deep. Then shall the far- 
sighted Saturn, and the benign Victory, bring a day of 
deliverance for Greece." * 

Bacis thus speaking, and so explicitly — f can neither 
myself venture to say any thing against oracles, nor 
admit what is advanced by others. 



SECTION V. 

ARRIVAL OF ARISTIDES. ENGAGEMENT AT SALAMIS. 

The contention among the generals at Salamis was 
still maintained, nor did they then know that the Bar- 

* I have thought in this, as in former instances, that a literal prose 
translation was preferable to one less exact— as it must be — in verse. 

(78) 2 r 4 



616 ARRIVAL OF ARISTIDES. 

barians had surrounded them with their fleet ; but sup- 
posed them to be in the same place where they had seen 
them during the day. In the midst of this altercation of 
the generals, there arrived from .^Egina Aristides, son of 
Lysimachus, an Athenian whom the commonalty had 
exiled by ostracism ; but whom, after all I have learned 
of his manners, I deem to have been one of the best and 
the most upright of all the Athenians. This person, 
presenting himself at the {door of the) council-room, 
called for Themistocles, who far from being his friend, 
was in fact peculiarly his enemy. But the magnitude of 
the ills impending over Greece, induced him to forget 
their animosities. He therefore called him to a con- 
ference, and he had already heard of the eagerness of the 
Peloponnesians to withdraw the fleet to the Isthmus. 
When Themistocles came forth he was thus addressed 
by Aristides : — " We must remit our contentions to an- 
other season, and now only strive which of us shall best 
serve our country. I tell you it matters not whether the 
Peloponnesians say much or little in favour of the de- 
parture of the fleet : — I relate to you what I have myself 
seen — and inform you that now, neither the Corinthians, 
nor Eurybiades himself, have the power to depart ; — we 
are encircled by the enemy. Return to the council, and 
signify to them what I have reported." Themistocles 
replied : — " Very good are your communications, and 
good is the news you bring. That which I desired to 
happen, you come as an eye-witness to declare has taken 
place. Know then that I am the instigator of the move- 
ments which the Medes have effected ; for it was neces- 
sary, as the Greeks would not of their own will give 
battle, that they should be forced to it unwillingly. But 
now, as you come a messenger of good tidings, announce 
them yourself; for if I should repeat them, they will 
think I have invented a story, nor shall I persuade them, 
any more than as if the Barbarians had not taken this 

(80) 



PREPARATIONS FOR BATTLE. 617 

course. But come, and yourself make known the fact, 
and when you have so done, if they shall be persuaded — 
well ; but if they give you no credit, the event will be 
the same ; for if, as you affirm, we are surrounded on all 
sides, they cannot make their escape." 

Aristides then entered, and declared that he came 
from iEgina, and had with difficulty passed unperceived 
through the fleet of Xerxes, which completely invested 
that of the Greeks : and he advised them to prepare for 
their defence — having so said he retired. Again an alter- 
cation ensued : for the greater part of the commanders 
did not believe what they had heard. While these were 
maintaining their doubts, there arrived in the fleet a 
trireme that had come over from the enemy ; it was 
manned by Tenians, under the command of Panaetius, son 
of Socimenes. From the crew of this vessel they learned 
all the truth. On account of this action, the name of 
the Tenians is inscribed on the tripod at Delphi, among 
those who defeated the Barbarian. This vessel, which 
came over to the Greeks at Salamis, together with one 
from Lemnos that had before joined the fleet at Artemi- 
sium, completed the number of three hundred and eighty 
ships, composing the fleet which before had wanted two 
of that amount. 

The Greeks receiving as certain the report of the 
Tenians, prepared themselves for the engagement. At 
dawn of day, after the muster of the crews had been 
made, the chiefs harangued their men, in doing which 
Themisiocles was eminently eloquent : the purport of his 
speech was to compare the better in action with the 
worse, and he exhorted the Athenians to choose whatever, 
within the range of human nature, and their actual 
circumstances, was best. Having wound up his discourse, 
he commanded the men to go on board their ships. While 
they were embarking, the trireme arrived from iEgina, 
(83) 



618 ENGAGEMENT AT SALAMIS. 

which had been despatched for the iEacids. Immediately 
the whole Greek fleet put out to sea. 

As the Greeks moved on, the Barbarians instantly 
advanced upon them : — when the former rowed backwards 
towards shore ; but an Athenian, named Aminias, of Pal- 
lene, advancing, attacked a ship, and getting entangled 
with it, so that he could not disengage his own, the 
others came up to support him, and thus the combat com- 
menced : this is the account given by the Athenians ; but 
the iEginetans affirm, that the ship sent to iEgina for the 
iEacids was the first to begin. It is also said, that a phan- 
tom, in the form of a woman, appeared to the Greeks, and 
in a voice that was heard by the whole fleet, encouraged 
them to the fight, after- first reproaching them in these 
words: — "Infatuated men! how long will you continue 
to move stern- first" (to retreat). 

To the Athenians were opposed the Phoenicians, on 
the western wing, towards Eleusis ; and to the Lacedae- 
monians, the Ionians : for these were stationed towards 
the east, and Pirasus. A few of the Ionians, in com- 
pliance with the injunctions of Themistocles, behaved 
remissly with design ; but not so the greater number ; 
and I am in possession of the names of many Ionian 
captains who captured Grecian vessels. I will mention 
only Theomestor, son of Androdamas, and Phylacus, 
son of Histiaeus — both of them Samians ; the reason why 
I make mention of these in preference to others, is that, 
in reward for his services on this occasion, Theomestor 
was constituted by the Persians tyrant of Samos ; and 
Phylacus was enrolled among those who had rendered 
service to the king ; and he received also a grant of a 
large tract of land. Those who have rendered service 
to the king, are in the Persian language called Oro- 
sanges. 

The greater number of the enemy's ships were broken 



BEHAVIOUR OF ARTEMISIA. 619 

in this battle at Salamis — either by the Athenians or the 
iEginetans. For as the Greeks kept their line of battle 
with precision, and as, on the contrary, the Barbarians 
neither observed order, nor regulated their movements 
with any intelligence, no other event than that which 
happened could well take place. And yet the conduct of 
the Barbarians on this day greatly surpassed their beha- 
viour in the engagements off Eubcea ; for in fear of 
Xerxes, every one displayed his utmost zeal, and each 
believed himself to be under the eye of the king. 

I cannot with certainty affirm what might be the beha- 
viour of particular combatants among either the Bar- 
barians or the Greeks. Yet I may relate an exploit of 
Artemisia, which obtained to her still greater credit with 
the king. At the time when an utter confusion had 
taken place in the royal fleet, the ship of Artemisia was 
pursued by an Athenian ship, and she, having no way 
of escape left open to her — for before her were many 
ships of the king's fleet, and hers was the nearest to the 
enemy, she decided what to do, and succeeded in the 
attempt ; for being still pursued by the Athenian, she 
bore down upon a ship of her own party ; — it was one of 
the Calyndian vessels, and commanded by Damasithymus, 
the king of that people. Whether she bore him a grudge 
on account of any disagreement happening while the fleet 
was at the Hellespont, or indeed whether there was any 
premeditation in what she. did, I cannot affirm ; or whe- 
ther it was merely that the Calyndian ship, happening 
to be opposed to hers, she thus encountered it. But so it 
was that in bearing down upon it, it went down, and she 
derived from the chance a double advantage ; for the 
captain of the Attic trireme, seeing the vessel he pursued 
attack one of the Barbarians, he imagined that the ship 
of Artemisia was either one of the Greek fleet, or that 
it had come over from the Barbarians, and was fighting 
for the Greeks ; he therefore turned away to attack 
(87) 



620 LOSS OF THE PERSIANS. 

others. By this good fortune, therefore, she not only 

escaped destruction, but also, though she had in fact 

injured the king, she actually obtained a higher place in 

his esteem. For it is affirmed, that as Xerxes beheld the 

contest, he took notice of the ship of Artemisia, as it 

bore down upon the Calyndian, and some one near him 

said : — " My lord ! observe you Artemisia — how bravely 

she fights, and how she has sunk an enemy's ship?" and 

when he inquired if indeed it was Artemisia who had 

achieved the exploit, they declared that they perfectly 

recognized the ship's symbol. The ship that perished 

they took to be one of the enemy. Besides the other 

respects in which, on this occasion, she was so fortunate, 

there was this, that not an individual from the Calyndian 

vessel survived to accuse her. Xerxes is said to have 

added : — " My men have behaved like women, and the 

women like men." 

In this combat perished the commander-in-chief — 
Ariabignes, son of Darius, and brother of Xerxes, be- 
sides a great number of distinguished Persians and 
Medes, and their allies. A few only of the Greeks lost 
their lives; for as they were skilled in swimming— if they 
escaped the sword of the enemy, when their ships foun- 
dered, they swam ashore on the island. But the Bar- 
barians, being unable to swim, for the most part perished 
in the sea on the like occasions. It happened also that 
when the ships in the first line of the Persian fleet re- 
treated, many were destroyed, for those in the second 
rank attempting to make their way to the front, in order 
to give proof of their zeal before the king, fell foul of 
those of their own party that were retreating. 

During the confusion, some Phoenicians whose ships 
had perished, came before the king, and accused the 
Ionians of treachery, and of having occasioned the loss 
of their ships. Yet so it happened, that while the Ionian 
commanders escaped destruction, the Phoenicians who 

(90) 



DESTRUCTION OF THE FUGITIVES. G21 

calumniated them received a merited punishment. For 
at the moment while they were speaking, a Samothracian 
ship bore down upon an Attic vessel, and sunk it. Then 
an iEginetan coming up, sunk the Samothracian ; but 
the Samothracians, being adroit in the use of the javelin, 
threw their missiles upon the crew of the vessel that had 
run them down, and driving them back, boarded their 
ship, and captured it. This action redeemed the Ionians ; 
for Xerxes observing the very gallant achievement, 
turned towards the Phoenicians, and being then in deep 
dejection, and disposed to blame every one, he gave orders 
that they should lose their heads, that they who were but 
cowards, might no more accuse men more brave than 
themselves. During the combat, Xerxes was seated at 
the foot of Mount vEgaleos, opposite to Salamis, and 
whenever he saw any of his own people displaying pecu- 
liar valour in the fight, he inquired the name of the 
individual, and his secretaries made a note of the family 
and city of the captain who had achieved the deed. The 
fate of the Phoenicians was attributable also to the inter- 
ference of Ariaramnes, a Persian, and the friend (of the 
Ionians) who happened to Be present. 

The Barbarians being put to flight, steered towards 
Phalerum, but the iEginetans placing themselves in the 
strait, behaved in a manner worthy of renown ; for while 
the Athenians took advantage of the enemy's disorder, 
and crushed the vessels which either maintained the fight 
or fled, the iEginetans destroyed those that were making 
off ; so that if any escaped the Athenians, they did but 
fall in with the iEginetans. 

In the midst of these encounters, as Themistocles was 
in pursuit of an enemy, he met with a vessel commanded 
by Policritus, son of Crius, of iEgina, who was attacking 
a Sidonian. This Sidonian ship happened to be the 
same that had captured the iEginetan ship stationed at 
Sciathus to watch the enemy, and on board of which was 
(92) 



622 POLYCRITUS AND THEMISTOCLES. 

Pytheas, son of Ischenous, whom the Persians, in admira- 
tion of his bravery, had preserved in their ship after he 
had been almost hacked in pieces. This Sidonian ship 
being now captured, with the Persians on board, Pytheas 
regained his liberty, and lived to return to Salamis. 
Polycritus observing the Attic ship, and knowing by the 
symbol that it belonged to the Athenian Commander, 
called aloud upon Themistocles, and sarcastically referred 
to the reproach that had been cast upon the iEginetans, 
of favouring the Medes, and even while thus taunting 
Themistocles, he bore down upon the (Sidonian) ship. 
Such of the Barbarians as escaped with their ships, 
retreated to Phalerum, where they remained under pro- 
tection of the army. 

In this engagement the iEginetans, among all the 
Greeks, obtained the most renown: next to them the 
Athenians. Of individuals, the most distinguished were 
— Polycritus, of iEgina ; and among the Athenians, 
Eumenes of Anagyris, and Aminias of Pallene, who 
pursued Artemisia, and who, if he had known that she 
was on board, would not have abandoned the pursuit until 
either he had captured it, or was himself captured ; for 
such had been the order given to the Athenian captains. 
And moreover a reward of ten thousand drachms was 
offered to whoever should take her alive ; for it was felt 
as a grievous indignity, that a woman should appear in 
arms against Athens. But she, as we have said, escaped, 
as did others who reached Phalerum, with their ships 
unhurt. 

[The Athenians affirm that Adimantus, the Corinthian com- 
mander, at the very commencement of the action, and at the 
moment when the ships encountered, being smitten with dis- 
may, hoisted sail, and steered off, and that the other Corin- 
thians observing the retreat of their commander, retired in like 
manner ; and that, on their retreat, arriving opposite to the 

(94) 



EXPLOIT OF ARISTIDES. 623 

temple of Minerva Sciras, on the shore of Salamis, they fell in 
with a swift and divinely commissioned bark — sent by : — no one 
knows whom, and which nevertheless announced to the Corin- 
thians the event of the battle, which they were then ignorant 
of. That it was supernatural is conjectured, because when the 
bark approached the Corinthian ships, those on board it 
uttered these words — " Adimantus, in withdrawing your ships, 
and hastening your flight, you are a traitor to the Greeks. 
But they, notwithstanding, are victorious, and shall obtain all 
the advantage they desired over their enemies." Adimantus, 
say they, not giving credit to this news, the persons on board 
the bark again spoke, and said that they would become hos- 
tages to die if it did not appear that the Greeks were vic- 
torious. Upon this, he, with the other ships, returned to the 
fleet, and arrived as the victory was achieved. Such is the 
report concerning the Corinthians which is received among the 
Athenians. But the Corinthians, far from assenting to it, 
affirm themselves to have been foremost in this engagement, 
and the rest of Greece gives them testimony to the same 
effect.] 

Aristides, son of Lysimachus, the Athenian, of whom 
I have lately made mention, as a man of great virtue, 
during the confusion which ensued in the engagement at 
Salamis, assembled a large body of heavy- armed Athe- 
nians, who had been posted along the coast of Salamis, 
and landing with them on Psyttalia, put to the sword all 
the Persians who were on the islet. 

No sooner was the contest finished, than the Greeks 
hauled on shore at - Salamis, all the wrecks that still 
floated near the island, and then held themselves ready for 
another engagement, supposing that the king would avail 
himself of such ships as remained to him. A westerly 
wind arising stranded many of the wrecks upon the coast 
of Attica, at the part called Colias. So were fulfilled 
the various predictions of Bacis and Musaeus concerning 
this engagement, and also that one concerning the wrecks 
(96) 



624 FEARS OF XERXES. 

on this coast, uttered many years before these events, by 
Lysistratus the Athenian diviner, and of which none 
of the Greeks had perceived the meaning ; the words 
were these : — 

" The women of Colias shall tremble at {bake their 
bread with) oars." * 

But this was to happen after the departure of the 
king. 



SECTION VI. 

ALARMS OF XERXES. MEASURES OF THE GREEKS. 

When Xerxes became acquainted with the extent of 
the loss he had sustained, he conceived the fear lest the 
Greeks, at their own motion, or at the suggestion of some 
Ionian should sail to the Hellespont, and by breaking up 
the bridges, detain him in Europe, and so put him in 
danger of perishing. He therefore meditated a retreat. 
But unwilling that this intention should become apparent, 
either to the Greeks or to his own army, he began to 
construct a causeway across the passage to Salamis, and 
for this purpose he joined together the Phoenician trans- 
ports, to serve instead of a raft and walls. He also made 
preparations as if about to give battle again at sea. In 
seeing him thus occupied, all others felt assured that he 
was fully resolved to remain, and that he meant, in 
making these preparations, to continue the war. But 
none of these movements deceived Mardonius, who well 
understood his real intentions. 

* This line has perplexed translators— a corruption of the text is 
supposed, which has been variously reformed. 

(97) 



NEWS CONVEYED TO SUSA. 625 

At the same time that he thus employed himself, 
Xerxes sent a messenger into Persia, to make known the 
present disaster. Nothing among mortals is mora rapid 
than the movement of these Persian messengers. — The 
plan we are told is this — The entire route being divided 
into journeys of a day each, as many horses and men are 
employed as there are days — one horse and man to each ; 
and neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor night, hinders 
these messengers from despatching their destined journey 
with the utmost celerity, j He who first receives des- 
patches, performs his course and delivers them to the 
second, and he to the third, and so on throughout; — 
much in the same way as in Greece is done by the torch- 
bearers, in the feast of Vulcan. This horse-post is* called 
by the Persians — The Relay. 

When the first news arrived at Susa — that Xerxes 
was master of Athens, such of the Persians as remained 
there were so delighted, that they strewed all the streets 
with myrtle, and burned incense, and gave themselves 
up to feasting and jollity. But the intelligence brought 
by the second who followed soon upon the first, filled 
them with such consternation that they all rent their 
mantles, and uttered loud and unbounded lamentations, 
and charged Mardonius with the blame. This grief of 
the Persians was not so much occasioned by the destruc- 
tion of the fleet, as by the fears they entertained for the 
safety of Xerxes ; and the same lamentations were kept 
up throughout Persia during the whole interval of 
time, until the king himself put an end to them by his 
return. 

Mardonius perceiving the extreme grief of Xerxes on 
account of his defeat at sea,, and suspecting that he medi- 
tated a retreat from Attica, and reflecting also that him- 
self should be punished for having urged the king to in- 
vade Greece, concluded that it would be better for 
himself to incur new hazards, and either to vanquish 
(100) 2 s 



626 SPEECH OF MARDONIUS. 

Greece, or nobly to end his life in confidently attempting 
great things. And now more than ever filled with the de- 
sire of accomplishing the conquest of Greece, he formed 
his resolution, and thus addressed the king : — " My lord, 
grieve not, nor deem what has happened a great misfor- 
tune ; for truly the issue of the combat depends not so 
entirely upon our timber (ships), but rather upon our 
men, and upon our horses. Of these Greeks who ima- 
gine that the contest is already finished, none will leave 
their ships to attempt opposing you ; nor will the Greeks 
on land attempt it. Those who did meet us in the field, 
paid the forfeit of their temerity. If therefore it seems 
good to you, let us instantly attempt Peloponnesus. Or 
if you think fit to hold back, you have the power to do 
so ; but yield not to despondency. — There is no way of 
escape open to the Greeks by which they may avoid ren- 
dering recompense for what they have done heretofore, 
and now, or which can save them from becoming your 
slaves. And the course I have mentioned should by 
all means be adopted. But if you have determined 
to retire, and to lead back the army, then I have 
another advice, on that supposition, to give. — And, O 
king, suffer not the Persians to become objects of ridicule 
to the Greeks ! It is not through the fault of the Persians 
that your affairs have suffered damage ; nor shall you say 
that on any occasion we have acted the part of cowards. 
But if the Phoenicians, and the Egyptians, and the Cy- 
prians, and the Cilicians, have been such, this misfortune 
is no fault of the Persians. Now therefore, since the 
Persians are blameless in their duty to you, yield to my 
advice, and if you had resolved not to remain in Greece, 
depart for your realm, and lead with you the mass of the 
army, and let it be my part to bring Greece under your 
sway with three hundred thousand men, chosen by me 
from the whole." 

Xerxes on hearing this speech, felt the joy and the 

(101) 



ADVICE OF ARTEMISIA. fi'27 

delight of one who is relieved from miseries, and told 
Mardonius that after deliberation, he would inform him 
whieh of the two propositions he should adopt. When 
he conferred on the subject with the Persians, whom he 
convoked for the purpose, he thought fit also to summon 
Artemisia to the council, for she alone appeared, on the 
former occasion, to have perceived what ought to have 
been done. On her arrival, he commanded the other 
Persians of the council, and the attendants, to withdraw, 
and thus spoke — " Mardonius advises me to remain in 
Greece, and to attempt Peloponnesus; and he alleges 
that the Persians and the army in general are not charge- 
able with the loss we have suffered ; and he affirms that 
they would fain give proof to this effect. He recom- 
mends then, either that I should take this course, or 
otherwise he would take three hundred thousand chosen 
men, and with them he engages to subjugate Greece, and 
in this case he wishes me to return home with the rest of 
the army. You therefore, who so well advised me not to 
engage the Greeks at sea, now tell me which of these 
courses it will be best for me to adopt." 

" Sire," replied Artemisia, "it is no easy matter for 
me to give to him who consults me the best advice. 
Yet in the present posture of affairs it seems to me that 
you should yourself return home. And as to Mardonius, 
if he wishes it, and if he promises to effect what he speaks 
of, let him be left with the troops . he asks for. And 
thus, should he make the conquest he desires, and obtain 
all the success he thinks of, the achievement, my lord, 
will be yours ; for it will have been accomplished by your 
slaves. Or if, on the other hand, the event should be 
altogether contrary to the expectation of Mardonius, it 
will be no great calamity, while you are preserved, and 
while your realm (house) is in safety. And no doubt so 
long as you survive, and your realm prospers, the Greeks 
will encounter many a contest for their country. And 
(102) 2 s 2 



628 STORY OF HERMOTIMUS. 

what if Mardonius should perish ? little will be thought 
of his fate ! nor will the Greeks have gained any great 
advantage in accomplishing the destruction of a slave of 
yours. And as for yourself, you will depart from Greece 
after having achieved the very object of the expedition — 
the burning of Athens. 

Xerxes was well pleased with this advice, for Arte- 
misia had recommended the very plan he had himself 
formed. But if all the men and women in the world 
had advised him to remain in Greece, he would, as I 
think, have stayed; — so thoroughly was he frightened! 
After commending Artemisia, he dismissed her, and com- 
mitted to her care some of his natural sons, who had 
attended him, and whom she was to conduct to 
Ephesus. 

[With them he sent, as their guardian, Hermotimus of 

Pedasus, and the principal of the king's eunuchs ( *). 

This Hermotimus was, we say, a Pedasian, and in a manner 
altogether unexampled among men, so far as we know, re- 
venged himself for an injury he had sustained. Having been 
made prisoner in war, he was sold as a slave, and purchased by 
Panionius, a Chian, who obtained a living by the most wicked 
means ; for it was his practice to buy beautiful children in 
great numbers, and then to sell them at Ephesus and Sardis 
as eunuchs, and from this trade he derived great wealth ; for 
these injured slaves are in high esteem among the Barbarians. 
Among the many youths whom Panionius thus cruelly injured 
for gain, was this Hermotimus, who nevertheless was not 
altogether unfortunate; for he passed with other offerings 
from Sardis to the king, and in process of time attained the 
chief place of honour among the eunuchs of Xerxes. At 
the time when the king led the Persian army against Athens, 
and while he was at Sardis, Hermotimus took occasion of 

* A paragraph here follows which has been borrowed almost word 
for word from B. I. c. 175, page 83. Its genuineness is questioned. 

(106) 



MEASURES OF XERXES. 629 

some business to go down into that part of Mysia which is 
called Atarnea, and which is occupied by the Chians. There 
he found Panionius, and recognizing him, addressed him in 
the most friendly manner. First he related the good fortune 
he had met with, and of which Panionius was the author ; 
and then he promised, by way of recompense, to do I know 
not how many great things for him, if he would come with 
all his household and reside with him. The man gladly ac- 
cepting these assurances, brought his children and his wife. 
But when Hermotimus had thus got the entire family in his 
power, he thus addressed Panionius : — " O most wicked of 
men, getting thy gains by the most wicked of means ! What 
injury had I, or any of mine done to thee, or to any of thine, 
that thou shouldst reduce me to a condition of utter insignifi- 
cance. Didst thou think that the gods were ignorant of the 
crime then perpetrated by thee ? They were not ignorant, 
and in their justice they have beguiled thee — criminal as thou 
art, to fall into my hands, that thou mayest have no room to 
murmur at the vengeance to be inflicted on thee by my 
hands." When he had uttered these reproaches, he brought 
the four sons of Panionius before him, and compelled the 
father to mutilate them, who under this compulsion did so, 
and then he obliged the sons to perpetrate the same outrage on 
their father. Thus did Hermotimus avenge himself on 
Panionius.] 

Xerxes having given his sons in charge to Artemisia, 
to conduct them to Ephesus, called for Mardonius, and 
instructed him to make a selection from the army — 
taking what troops he pleased, and commanded him to 
endeavour that his performances might be equal to his 
professions. Such were the transactions of this day, and 
at night, by the order of the king, the commanders of the 
fleet weighed from Phalerum, and sailed towards the 
Hellespont, each with all the speed in his power, in order 
to guard the rafts by which the king was to pass over. 
When the Barbarians, in the course of their voyage, 
(107) 2 s 3 



630 OPINION OF EURYBIADES, AND 

arrived off Zoster, and were coasting along not far from 
the broken cliffs of that shore, they imagined the small 
headlands to be ships, and stood out to sea in alarm ; 
but at length, learning that they were headlands, not 
ships, they re-assembled the fleet, and proceeded on their 
way. 

At dawn of day the Greeks, seeing the army still 
occupying its station on the coast, supposed that the 
fleet was in port at Phalerum, and in expectation of an 
engagement, prepared themselves for defence. But 
when informed of the departure of the enemy's fleet, 
they instantly formed the resolution of pursuing. Yet 
following the fleet of Xerxes as far as Andros without 
gaining sight of it, they conferred together. The opi- 
nion expressed by Themistocles was that — " taking their 
course through the islands,* and following close upon the 
enemy's fleet, they should proceed direct to the Helles- 
pont, and break up the bridges." But Eurybiades ad- 
vanced an opposite opinion, saying that — " if they were 
to destroy the rafts fridges) they would bring upon 
Greece the greatest possible evils. For the Persian, if 
thus cut off and compelled to remain in Europe, would 
assuredly not remain quiet, as in continuing inactive, he 
could neither hope to prosecute his conquests, nor obtain 
a way of retreat, but must suffer the destruction of the 
army by famine. On the contrary, should he assume 
offensive operations, and act vigorously, all the cities 
and states of Europe would join him, either after sub- 
jugation, or by previous treaty. Meanwhile, the con- 
tinual produce of Greece would afford sustenance to his 
troops. But he believed that the Persian, after the 
defeat he had sustained at sea, would not remain in 
Europe : — he should therefore be permitted to escape, 
and when he had actually reached his own dominions, 

* Across the ./Egasan sea, by Andros, Scyros, Lemnos, Imbros. 

(108) 



GUILE OF THEMISTOCLES. 631 

then the contest might be renewed with him, and this 
he (Eurybiades) would then recommend." This opi- 
nion was acceded to by the other Peloponnesian com- 
manders. 

When Themistocles perceived that he should not pre- 
vail with the majority to sail to the Hellespont, he 
adopted another course, and addressed the Athenians — 
for they especially were indignant that the enemy should 
be suffered to escape, and were eager — even if the other 
Greeks would not — to proceed themselves to the Helles- 
pont.-— The speech of Themistocles was as follows—" I 
have ere now myself witnessed many such occasions, and 
have heard of many more, in which men shut in by 
necessities, and after they had suffered defeat, have re- 
newed the combat, and have redeemed their first re- 
verses. We therefore, having met with this unexpected 
success, and having repelled from us and from Greece so 
great a cloud of men, let us not pursue the fugitives. 
For it is not we who have wrought this deliverance, but 
the gods and the heroes, who were jealous that one man 
should reign over both Asia and Europe — and a man so 
unholy and so presumptuous, who makes no distinction 
between things sacred and common — burning and over- 
throwing the statues of the gods ; — a man who inflicted 
stripes on the deep, and gave it fetters. But now, as 
things are for the present well with us, let us remain in 
Greece, and attend to ourselves and our families. Let 
each rebuild his house, and diligently sow his lands after 
the Barbarian is altogether expelled. And in the en- 
suing spring let us proceed to the Hellespont, and to 
Ionia." In thus speaking Themistocles proposed to him- 
self to have a claim on the favour of the Persian, and 
and that if he should incur ill-treatment from the Athe- 
nians he might have an asylum; and thus it actually 
happened. 

The Athenians yielded to this deceptive address; 
(110) 2 s 4 



632 ATTACK UPON ANDROS. 

indeed the reputation he had before enjoyed for wisdom, 
and the proofs he had given recently of his sagacity and 
prudence, inclined them to yield implicitly to his advice. 
When they were thus gained over to his purpose, he 
instantly despatched some persons in a small vessel, in 
whom he could confide, and who could maintain silence, 
even under the extremest tortures, nor reveal what he 
had commissioned them to say to the king. The same 
Sicinnus, was one of these; and when they reached the 
shore of Attica, all remained in the skiff except Sicinnus, 
who going ashore, appeared before Xerxes and thus 
spoke — " I am sent by Themistocles, son of Neocles, the 
Athenian general, and the most valiant and wise of all 
the confederated Greeks, and I am instructed to say that 
this Themistocles, the Athenian, wishing to serve you, 
has withheld the Greeks who would have pursued the 
fleet, and have broken up the bridges at the Hellespont. 
Now, therefore, you may retire in perfect quietness." 
After making this communication, he retired and sailed 
away. 

The Greeks having resolved that they would not either 
pursue the Barbarian fleet any further, nor proceed to 
the Hellespont to break up the bridge, invested Andros 
with the intention of taking possession of it ; for the 
Andrians, first of all the islanders, had refused to afford 
the money which Themistocles had demanded. He had 
addressed them in this manner. — " The Athenians," said 
he, " come, having with them the two potent divinities — 
Persuasion and Compulsion : wherefore the money must 
by all means be given." To this they replied that — 
"The Athenians might well be great and prosperous, 
having the company of such serviceable deities. But 
as for the Andrians, they were poor in territory, and 
indigent ; nor were ever free from the attendance of two 
unprofitable divinities who loved their soil, namely— 
Poverty and Perplexity; and being in the keeping of 

(111) 



CUPIDITY OF THEMISTOCLES. 633 

these divinities, the Andrians could not render the 
money ; nor could ever the power of the Athenians be 
greater than the impossibility of the Andrians." Having 
given this reply, and refused the money, they were 
besieged. 

The cupidity of Themistocles being unappeased, he sent 
to the other islands threatening messages, demanding mo- 
ney by the same heralds, who used the same language 
which had been addressed to the people of Andros, say- 
ing, "That unless they gave what was demanded, he 
would lead against them the forces of Greece — besiege 
and remove them from the island." By these threats 
he obtained large sums from the Carystians and the 
Parians, who learning that the Andrians were besieged 
on account of their favouring the Medes, and knowing 
that Themistocles enjoyed the highest reputation among 
the generals, yielded to their fears, and sent the money. 
Whether any other of the islanders did the same I cannot 
say, yet I am of opinion that some complied besides those 
I have mentioned. Notwithstanding their grant of 
money, the Carystians did not obtain a delay of cala- 
mity. But the Parians propitiated Themistocles by 
their money, and they, escaped a visit from the army. 
Thus it was that Themistocles, commencing with the 
Andrians, obtained money from the islanders without the, 
knowledge of the other generals. 



SECTION VII. 

RETREAT OF THE BARBARIANS. HONOURS OF 
THEMISTOCLES. SIEGE OF POTTDjEA. 

The army under Xerxes remained in its station a few 
days after the engagement, and then marched off towards 
(113) 



634 SELECTION FROM THE ARMY, 

Boeotia by the same road on which it had entered 
Attica ; and Mardonius thought proper to accompany the 
king, as the season was now too far advanced to allow of 
carrying on military operations. And it was deemed 
better to winter in Thessaly, and on the return of spring 
to attempt Peloponnesus. On his arrival in Thessaly 
Mardonius selected from the army, first of all, that body 
of Persians called the Immortals, excepting only their 
commander Hydarnes, who declared that he would not 
quit the king. Then he took the Persian cuirassiers, and 
the body of a thousand horse, together with the Medes, 
the Saces, the Bactrians, and the Indians, both infantry 
and cavalry : the forces of these nations he took entire, 
while from all the other allies he picked out only a few 
of such as were recommended by their figure, and those 
whom he knew to have achieved some feat of valour. In 
fact, he chose the greater part of the Persians, who wore 
necklaces and bracelets, and also of the Medes, who were 
not fewer in number, though inferior in muscular vigour. 
These selections were made to amount, including the 
cavalry, to 300,000 men. 

At this time, while Mardonius was making his choice 
from the army, and while Xerxes was yet in Thessaly, 
an oracle came from Delphi to the Lacedaemonians, en- 
joining them to demand satisfaction of Xerxes for the 
death of Leonidas, and to receive from him (as oracular) 
such reply as he should make. The Spartans sent a 
herald therefore instantly, who overtook the army while 
it was yet undivided in Thessaly, and coming before 
Xerxes, thus spoke—" King of the Medes ! the Lace- 
daemonians and the Heraclids of Sparta demand of you 
satisfaction on account of the slain ; for you killed their 
king while defending Greece." At this speech Xerxes 
only laughed, nor did he for some time give any answer ; 
at length pointing to Mardonius, who happened to be 

(114) 



AND RETREAT OF XERXES. 635 

present, he said— "This Mardonius, here, will render 
them such satisfaction as is fitting." The herald receiving 
this answer, went his way. 

Leaving Mardonius in Thessaly, Xerxes now proceeded 
with all haste towards the Hellespont, and reached the 
passage in five and forty days, leading with him, as one 
might say, scarcely a fragment of his army. On their 
march, wherever,' and among whomsoever they came, they 
seized for their own sustenance all the provisions they 
found ; or if they found no provisions, they gathered the 
grass of the fields, and plucked the leaves from the 
trees, which they devoured — as well the cultivated as the 
forest trees ; — nothing was left by them, so greatly were 
they pressed by famine. The pestilence and dysentery 
which attacked the army on the march, also destroyed 
great numbers. As he proceeded, Xerxes left the sick 
in every city, charging the people to nourish and take 
care of them. Some of these were left in Thessaly, and 
at Siris of Paeonia, and some in Macedonia ; (where also 
he had left, when he advanced against Greece, the sacred 
chariot of Jupiter, and which he found not on his return : 
for the Pasonians had given it to the Thracians, and when 
it was demanded of them by Xerxes, they affirmed that 
the mares had been carried off from the pastures by the 
people of Upper Thrace, who dwelt about the sources of 
the Strymon. 

It was on this occasion that the king of the Bisaltians 
and Crestonians — a Thracian, perpetrated a most unna- 
tural atrocity. He had professed that he would never 
voluntarily submit to the yoke of Xerxes, and had him- 
self retired to the heights of Mount Rhodope, 6traitly 
enjoining his sons not to join the expedition against 
Greece. But they, disregarding the prohibition, or at 
least impelled by the desire to see the war, followed the 
Persian ; yet when they returned home in safety — six of 
them, their father thrust out their eyes for their 
(116) 



636 RETURN OF XERXES TO ASIA. 

disobedience; - — such was the recompense they re- 
ceived ! 

When the Persians, after marching through Thrace, 
reached the passage, they, with the most urgent haste, 
passed over to Abydos in their ships ; for they found the 
rafts no longer subsisting — having been broken up by a 
storm. Arriving (in Asia) and making some stay, they 
obtained a much larger supply of food than on the march, 
and by gorging to excess, and also by changing their 
water, a large number of the army that had hitherto 
survived died. The residue, with Xerxes, reached 
Sardis. 

[A different account of these transactions has been given, 
for it has been affirmed that when Xerxes, on his retreat from 
Athens, arrived at Eion, on the Strymon, he no longer con- 
tinued his journey by land, but committing the conduct of the 
army towards the Hellespont, to Hydarnes, himself went on 
board a Phoenician ship, and so reached the coast of Asia. 
And it is said, that while at sea, the vessel was overtaken by 
a stiff gale from the Strymon, with a heavy sea; and as the 
storm increased, the waves swept the deck, for the vessel was 
overloaded with the crowd of Persians that had gone on 
board with Xerxes. Then the king, in great alarm, loudly 
called upon the steersman to know if there was any hope of 
their being saved, who replied — " None, my lord, none at all, 
unless we get rid of a part of those who are on board." On 
hearing this, Xerxes, as it is said, exclaimed — " Persians, 
who of you will now exhibit your solicitude for your king ; 
for it seems that my preservation rests with you." As he thus 
spoke they worshipped him, and then jumped into the sea. 
The vessel, thus lightened, reached in safety the Asiatic shore. 
Immediately upon his setting foot on land, Xerxes, because 
the steersman had saved the king's life, granted to him a 
crown of gold ; and then, because he had occasioned the loss 
of many Persians, he caused him to lose his head. Such is 
this other account of the return of Xerxes; but to me it 

(119) 



DEDICATION OF THE SPOILS. 637 

seems unworthy of credit, as well in other particulars, as in 
what relates to the fate of the Persians ; for if in truth the 
steersman did thus reply to Xerxes, I shall not meet one 
person in ten thousand, who will affirm that the king acted in 
this manner, or who will say that he would not rather have 
sent the Persians — and the Persian chiefs who were on deck 
down into the hold of the vessel, and have cast into the sea a 
like number of the rowers who were Phoenicians. But in 
fact Xerxes, as I have already mentioned, proceeded with 
the army by land, and so returned to Asia. 

A convincing proof of this, is the fact, that Xerxes, on his 
return, arriving at Abdera, formed an alliance of friendship 
with the people of that city, and bestowed upon them a golden 
scymetar, and a tiara wrought with gold. The Abderites 
indeed affirm, though I cannot herein give them credit, that 
Xerxes loosed his girdle first at Abdera, after his flight from 
Athens, as being then first free from fear. (Be this as it may) 
Abdera is situated nearer to the Hellespont than the Strymon 
and Eion, whence, as they say, Xerxes embarked.] 

The Greeks not being able to make a conquest of 
Andros, turned towards Carystus, and after pillaging the 
lands of the Carystians, returned to Salamis. Their 
first step was to set apart the prime of the spoils to the 
gods ; and among other things, they dedicated three 
Phoenician triremes, of which the first was placed at the 
Isthmus, where it remained even in my time ; the next 
at Sunium ; and the last, devoted to Ajax, at Salamis. 
This done, they parted the spoils, and of this booty sent 
the prime to Delphi, and from the value of the dedicated 
part was formed a statue twelve cubits high, holding in 
the hand the poop of a ship ; it stands in the compartment 
with the golden statue of Alexander, king of Macedonia. 
When the Greeks sent these offerings to Delphi, they, 
with common consent, inquired of the god whether the 
offerings he had received were sufficient and acceptable to 
him ; he replied — " From the other Greeks they were so ; 
(122) 



638 VOTE OF HONOUR. 

but not from the iEginetans, of whom he demanded an 
offering on account of their superior valour in the engage- 
ment at Salamis. When the iEginetans were informed 
of this demand, they dedicated three golden stars, placed 
on a brazen mast, at the corner very near the cistern of 
Croesus, (p. 21.) 

After dividing the spoil, the Greeks sailed to the 
Isthmus, to confer the palm of valour upon him among 
all the Greeks who should be deemed to have been the 
most deserving in the late war. When the generals 
came and distributed the ballots among themselves at the 
altar of Neptune, in order to designate the first and the 
second in honour, every one of them voted for himself, as 
deeming himself the most valiant of all ; but most of them 
concurred in adjudging their second vote to Themis- 
toclesc They therefore had severally only single votes ; 
but Themistocles, by far the majority of votes for the 
second honour. The Greeks, influenced by jealousy, 
could not come to a decision; but leaving the matter 
undetermined, departed severally to their homes. Yet 
nevertheless Themistocles was loudly talked of and ap- 
plauded as by far the most sagacious man in all Greece. 
And because he was not honoured by those with whom he 
had fought at Salamis, although victor by the votes, he 
immediately went to Lacedaemon in order to be honoured 
there ; and the Lacedaemonians did indeed receive him 
handsomely, and with the highest regard. To Eurybiades 
they had given the crown of olive, as the reward of 
valour ; but to Themistocles also they granted an olive 
crown, for wisdom and ability (or address) : they ad- 
judged to him moreover the most sumptuous chariot that 
Was to be found at Sparta; and after bestowing upon 
him many commendations, sent him forward on his return, 
accompanied by a chosen band of three hundred Spar- 
tans — those called the knights, who went with him as far 
as the Tegean boundary. Themistocles is the only man, 

(124) 



SIEGE OF POTIDiEA. 639 

so far as we know, whom the Spartans have ever thus 
sent forth. 

But as soon as Themistocles returned to Athens from 
Lacedaemon, Timodemus of Alphidna, one of the faction 
opposed to Themistocles, but otherwise a man of no 
importance, being mad with envy, attacked him on the 
score of his journey to Lacedaemon, and affirmed that the 
honours he had received from the Lacedaemonians were 
rendered to him, not for his own sake, but in regard to 
Athens. At length, as Timodemus persisted in repeating 
this assertion, Themistocles said : — " So it is with thee ; 
neither should I have been so honoured by the Spartans 
had I been a Belbinite, nor you — man ! even if an 
Athenian " * 

Artabazus, son of Pharnaces, a man long had in high 
repute among the Persians, and still more so after the 
battle of Plataea, having under his command 60,000 of 
the army chosen by Mardonius, attended Xerxes as far as 
the passage ; and when the king had gone over into Asia, 
he returned, and marched into the neighbourhood of 
Pallene. Mardonius had by this time taken up bis 
winter quarters in Thessaly and Macedonia, and did not 
constrain Artabazus to form a junction with the main 
army. He therefore, finding himself near the Potidaeans, 
who had revolted, thought he could do no less than 
reduce them to subjection. These Potidaeans had 
openly declared their revolt from the Barbarian, at the 
moment when the king had passed by them on his return, 
and when the Persian fleet made its escape after the 
engagement at Salamis. The example of the Potidaeans 
was followed by the other inhabitants of Pallene. Arta- 
bazus therefore besieged Potidaea; and entertaining a 
suspicion that the people of Olynthia intended to re- 

* Timodemus, though enrolled as of Aphida, was probably by birth 
of Belbina, 

(127) 



640 SIEGE OF POTIDjEA. 

nounce the authority of the king, he laid siege to that 
city also, which was then held by the Bottiaeans, who 
had been expelled from the shores of the Thermaic 
gulph by the Macedonians. Having taken this city, he 
led the inhabitants to a marsh, where he slaughtered 
them. The city he delivered into the hands of Crito- 
bulus of Torone, after bringing into it some Chalcidians. 
Thus it was that Olynthus came to be occupied by the 
people of Chalcis. 

After the capture of Olynthus, Artabazus urged the 
siege of Potidasa with great intentness, and while invest- 
ing it, an offer was made him to betray the place by 
Timoxenus, general (or magistrate) of the Scionaeans. 
By what means the correspondence was commenced I 
am unable to say, for it has not been related ; but in the 
course of it the following plan was adopted : — as often as 
Timoxenus wished to convey a message to Artabazus, or 
Artabazus to him, a letter was written which was wound 
about a missile, near the notch, so as to form the fledging 
of the arrow ; and this was discharged towards a spot 
agreed upon. But the treason of Timoxenus was dis- 
covered, for Artabazus in discharging his arrow towards 
the destined place, missed his aim, and the arrow struck 
a citizen of Potidasa in the shoulder : — as is usual on 
such occasions, a crowd gathered round the wounded 
man, and these persons immediately taking up the arrow, 
perceived the letter, which they carried to the generals, 
and there were present the chiefs of the other con- 
federated Pallenians. These generals having read the 
letter, and learned the author of the treason, nevertheless 
thought proper not to accuse Timoxenus of the crime, in 
regard to the Scionian community, lest ever after, the 
Scionians should be reputed traitors. Such however was 
the manner in which the transaction became known. 

Artabazus had carried on the siege of Potidaea three 
months, when there happened an extraordinary ebbing of 

(129) 



DESTRUCTION OF PERSIANS AT POTID.EA. 641 

the sea, which continued a long time. The Barbarians 
(on the main land) seeing the bottom only partially covered 
with water, set forwards to pass over to Pallene ; but 
when they had accomplished two fifths of the way, and 
there remained three to bring them upon the Pallenian 
shore, there happened a reflux of the sea, greater, as the 
people of the country affirm, than was ever before known 
— though such floods are frequent. Those of the Bar- 
barians who could not swim, perished ; those who could 
were, for the most part, killed by the Potidseans, who 
pursued them in boats. The cause of this flux and 
inundation, and of the loss sustained by the Persian 
forces, is thus stated by the people of Potidsea. They 
say that these Persians had profaned the temple and 
statue of Neptune, in the suburbs, and therefore it was 
that they perished in the sea ; and in attributing it to 
this cause I think they are right. Artabazus led the 
survivors into Thessaly, where they joined the army under 
Mardonius. Such was the fate of the troops that had 
attended Xerxes on his retreat. 

The remainder of the fleet of Xerxes that had escaped 
from Salamis, and attained the shores of Asia, after trans- 
porting the king and the army from the Chersonese to 
Abydos, wintered at Cyme. But at the first appearance 
of spring, they hastened to assemble at Samos, where 
some of the ships had passed the winter. The troops on 
board were chiefly Persians and Medes ; and Mardontes, 
son of Bagseus, and Artayntes, son of Artachaeus, had 
arrived to take the command of the fleet. The latter 
had associated with himself in the command his nephew, 
Ithamitres. After the great blow they had received, the 
Persians did not move out towards the west, nor were 
they required to do so ; but holding themselves at Samos, 
they kept a watch upon Ionia, lest it should revolt. The 
fleet, including the Ionian ships, amounted to three 
hundred sail. Nor did they apprehend that the Greeks 
(130) 2 t 



642 MOVEMENTS OF THE GREEKS. 

would advance towards Ionia; but rather supposed it 
would suffice them to guard their own country ; and they 
were confirmed in this belief by the fact that the Greeks, 
instead of pursuing them when they fled from Salamis, 
had willingly withdrawn. Though in their own opinion 
effectually beaten at sea, they expected that Mardonius 
would carry all before him on land ; and while they were 
consulting at Samos by what means they might injure 
the enemy, they listened with eager expectation for news 
of the movements of Mardonius. 



SECTION VIII. 

MISSION OF ALEXANDER TO ATHENS. 

The approach of spring, and the presence of Mar- 
donius in Thessaly aroused the Greeks. The land forces 
were not yet assembled ; but the fleet, numbering one 
hundred and ten sail, had reached iEgina under the com- 
mand of the admiral, Leotychides. The ancestors of 
Leotychides were — Menares, Agesilaus, Hippocratides, 
Leotychides, Anaxilaus, Archidamus, Anaxandrides, Theo- 
pompus, Nicander, Charillus, Eunomus, Polydectes, 
Prytanes, Euryphon, Procles, Aristodemus, Aristomachus, 
Cleodaeus, Hyllus — 'Hercules. He was therefore of the 
second branch of the royal family. All whom I have 
named, excepting the two (or the seven) next preceding 
Leotychides, were kings of Sparta. The Athenian fleet 
was commanded by Xantippus, son of Ariphron. 

When the entire fleet had assembled at JEgina, there 
arrived at the (naval) camp of the Greeks, messengers 
from Ionia — the same who a short time before had come 

(132) 



SOLICITATION OF THE IONIANS. 643 

to Sparta, to entreat the Lacedaemonians to liberate 
Ionia. Among them was Herodotus, son of Basilides. 
They, originally seven in number, had formed a con- 
spiracy for putting to death Strattis, tyrant of Chios; 
but their intentions were betrayed by one of themselves, 
upon which the six withdrew from Chios, and came to 
Sparta, and afterwards to iEgina, praying the Greeks 
to pass over to Ionia. But it was with difficulty that 
they induced them to proceed, even as far as Delos ; for 
all beyond that island was formidable to the Greeks, both 
because they were little acquainted with those seas ; and 
because they supposed them to be filled with the enemy's 
fleets. Samos they thought as remote from them as the 
Pillars of Hercules. A like feeling prevailed on both 
sides, for while the fears of the Barbarians prevented 
their advancing westward of Samos, the Greeks, though 
entreated by the Chians, moved not eastward of Delos. 
Thus it was that Dread guarded the midway between 
them. 

While the Greeks sailed to Delos, Mardonius, who 
had wintered in Thessaly, set out on his march thence ; 
but first despatched a person named Mys, of Europus 
{of Caria) to consult the oracles. He enjoined him to 
proceed in all directions, to take the advice of every 
oracle that could be had recourse to. What it was pre- 
cisely that he wished to learn by these inquiries, I am 
unable to say ; for it has not been related. But I suppose 
it was nothing else than the issue of the impending con- 
test. This person, it appears, came to Lebadea, and 
having by a gift gained an inhabitant of the place, he 
descended to (the cave of) Trophonius. He also visited 
the oracle of Abas, of the Phocians, and came to Thebes, 
where he not only first consulted the Ismenian Apollo, 
whose responses are obtained in the same manner nearly 
as at Olympia, by observing the flame of the burning 
victim ; but also, having bribed some stranger- not a 
(134) 2 t 2 



644 THE DELEGATE OF MARDONIUS. 

Theban, be slept * in the temple of Amphiaraus. It is 
not permitted to any Theban to inquire at this oracle, for 
the following reason : — Amphiaraus had by responses 
proposed to them to choose whether they would avail 
themselves of his services as a diviner, or as an ally in 
arms, and required them, after making their choice, to 
abstain from the other. They chose him as their ally in 
arms, and therefore it is unlawful for any Theban to sleep 
in this temple. 

A circumstance which to me seems highly extraor- 
dinary, is related by the Thebans ;— they say that this 
Mys, the Europian, in the course of his circuit among all 
the oracles, came to the temple of Apollo Ptous, so called, 
which belongs to the Thebans, and stands above the 
Copaic lake, at the foot of the mountain (of that name), 
and near the city Acraephia. When this man, say they, 
entered the temple, three citizens, chosen by the people 
for the purpose, attended him to write down whatever 
response might be given him. But instantly the priestess 
uttered her response in a foreign tongue. The Thebans 
who were in attendance, amazed to hear a foreign tongue 
instead of Greek, were at a loss what to do in their actual 
circumstances. But Mys, the Europian, snatching from 
them the tablet they had brought, wrote upon it what the 
prophet had said, which it appeared was in the Carian 
language. After himself taking a copy, he departed for 
Thessaly. 

After perusing the answers of the oracles, Mardonius 
sent to Athens the Macedonian (king) Alexander, son of 
Amyntas, who was allied to the Persians ; for his sister, 
named Gygaea, the daughter of Amyntas, was the wife 
of Bubares, a Persian (p. 358), and had borne him in 
Asia a son, named Amyntas, after his maternal grand- 
father. To this Amyntas, son of Bubares, the king had 

* The customary mode of consulting this oracle. 

(136) 



STORY OF PERDICCAS. 645 

granted Alabanda, a large city of Phrygia. Mardonius 
sent Alexander to the Athenians, because he understood 
that the Macedonian king was on terms of friendship with 
them, and was regarded by them as their benefactor, and 
he hoped by this means to gain over to his interests a 
people whom he heard of as numerous and valiant, and 
whom he knew to have been, more than any others, the 
authors of the defeat the Persians had lately met with at 
sea. He reckoned moreover, and truly, that if he gained 
them over, he should with ease hold the dominion of the 
seas, and on land he thought himself superior to the 
Greeks, and thus he calculated upon obtaining the ad- 
vantage over them. Perhaps also the oracles had given 
him this advice, and had counselled him to form alliance 
with the Athenians. Influenced ,by such motives he sent 
the embassy. 

[This Alexander was the seventh* in descent from Per- 
diccas, who in the manner I shall now relate, obtained the 
sovereignty of Macedonia. Three brothers, Gavanes, 
Aeropus, and Perdiccas, the descendants of Temenus, 
fled from Argos into Illyria, from thence they came into 
the upper Macedonia, and arrived at Lebsea, where they 
engaged themselves in the service of the king for hire. The 
elder of them engaging to mind the horses, the second to feed 
the kine, while the youngest, Perdiccas, was to attend 
the smaller cattle. In ancient times, even princes, and not 
merely the common people, were scanty in their possessions, 
and therefore the very wife of the king cooked the food for 
the family ; now as often as she baked a loaf for the hire- 
ling lad, Perdiccas, it became twice as large as at first. 
As this happened constantly, she related the fact to her 
husband, who on hearing it, instantly conceived that it was 
a portent, and boded something of consequence. He forth- 
with summoned the hirelings, and commanded them to 

* The two extremes included. 

(137) 2 t 3 



646 STORY OF PERDICCAS. 

depart from his dominions. They said they would depart, 
but ought first to receive their pay. When they spoke of 
their pay, the king, as if infatuated,* thus replied — the sun 
then shining into the house through the chimney (hole in 
the roof) : — " I give you this as your pay, which is equal to 
your deserts;" and as he spoke he pointed to the sun. The 
two elder, Gavanes and Aeropus, stood in amazement on 
hearing this answer ; but the youngest, who happened to have 
in his hand a carver, said : — " O king, we accept what you 
grant;" and with his carver he drew a circle on the floor 
of the house, around the (light of the) sun. This done, 
he three times admitted the rays into his bosom, and then 
with his brothers departed. They went their way ; but one 
of the assessors (senators) explained to the king what sort 
of thing the youth had done ; and that it was with a deli- 
berate intention that the youngest had accepted what was 
given. On hearing this, he in a rage despatched horsemen 
to kill them. There is a river in that country, to which tKe 
descendants of these Argives perform sacrifices, as to a 
deliverer ; for this river, when the sons of Temenus had 
passed over it, ran with such a current that the horsemen 
were unable to ford it. They, arriving in another district of 
Macedonia, settled near the gardens said to have belonged 
to Midas, son of Gordius : in these gardens grow sponta- 
neously the roses, each of which has sixty petals, and of 
uncommon fragrance ; and it was in these gardens, as the 
Macedonians affirm, that Silenus was taken. Above them 
is the mountain named Bermion — inaccessible from its 
wintry climate. The three brothers having established 
themselves in this spot, made excursions until they had 
subdued the rest of Macedonia. From this Perdiccas, 
Alexander was descended; thus he was son of Amyntas, 
and he of Alcetas, whose father was Aeropus, the son of 
Philip, the son of Argaeus, the son of Perdiccas, who ac- 
quired the sovereignty.] 

* StofiXafiriQ, hurt by the gods. 

(139) 



MISSION OF ALEXANDER. 647 

Alexander, sent by Mardonius, reached Athens, and 
thus addressed the people : — ' Athenians ! Mardonius 
says, — " A message has come to me from the king, to 
the following purport — " ' I pass by all the offences which 
the Athenians have committed against me ; now therefore 
Mardonius do thus : — In the first place surrender to 
them their lands ; then let them select some other lands, 
at their pleasure ; let them observe their own laws ; and 
if they will form an alliance with me, rebuild all the 
temples which I have burned.'" Having then received 
these commands, I can do no otherwise than execute 
them, unless you, on your part, make opposition. And 
now I (Mardonius) address you myself. Why be so mad 
as to wage war with the king? For even might you 
obtain an advantage over him, you are not in condition to 
resist him for ever. You have seen the innumerable hosts 
of Xerxes, and his achievements, and you are informed 
of the force now at my command ; and you know that, 
even should you prevail and gain a victory — of which 
indeed you can entertain no hope, if you think soberly — 
even then other armies, much more numerous, will come 
forwards. Do not then, in balancing yourselves against 
the king, deprive yourselves of your country, and be al- 
ways in peril of your lives. But end the war : you may 
now do so with honour, seeing that the king takes these 
steps to effect a peace. Be free, and form an alliance 
with us, apart from guile and deceit." This, Athenians, 
is what Mardonius has enjoined me to say to you : and I 
for myself shall say nothing of the good- will I bear towards 
you ; for this is not the first occasion on which you have 
been made acquainted with it. But I implore you to 
yield to Mardonius, for T see that you will not be able to 
maintain war perpetually with Xerxes. If I had per- 
ceived any thing ' else to be practicable for you, I 
would not have come among you with these propositions. 
For indeed the power of the king is more than human, 
(140) 2 t 4 



648 REPLY OF THE SPARTANS AND 

and his arm long beyond measure. Unless therefore you 
immediately come to terms, when conditions so advan- 
tageous are proposed, on which they {the Persians) are 
willing 1 to make peace, I greatly fear for you, especially 
as you, more than any others, occupy the very highway 
between all the belligerents, and must, again and again, be 
left alone exposed to destruction ; for the soil you possess 
lies in the very centre of war. Ah, but yield ! and 
truly, when the great king offers to you alone of all the 
Greeks, pardon for past injuries, and his willing friend- 
ship, you may well deem the proposition of high con- 
sequence.' 

The Lacedaemonians having learned that Alexander 
had arrived at Athens, in order to bring the Athenians into 
alliance with the Barbarian, called to remembrance the 
oracles which predicted that they, with the other Dorians, 
were fated to be expelled from Peloponnesus by the 
Medes and the Athenians, and were in great fear lest the 
Athenians should make terms with the Persian. They 
thought fit therefore instantly to despatch ambassadors, 
and it so happened that they appeared at the same time 
before the assembly. In fact, the Athenians had used 
delays, well knowing that when the Lacedaemonians 
heard of the arrival of an ambassador from the Barbarian 
to treat for peace, they would instantly despatch ambas- 
sadors also. They had therefore purposely postponed 
{holding the assembly) in order, more fully, to set forth 
their intentions before the Lacedaemonians. When 
Alexander ceased, the messengers from Sparta took the 
word, and thus spoke : — " We have been sent by the 
Lacedaemonians to entreat you neither to adopt any 
measures contrary to the interests of Greece, nor to 
admit any propositions coming from the Barbarian. 
Such a course would be by no means just in itself, nor 
honourable in any of the Greeks, and least of all in you ; 
and that for many reasons. — It was you who excited this 

(142) 



OF THE ATHENIANS TO ALEXANDER. G49 

war — and that without our concurrence ; and the contest 
in its commencement related to your interests, though 
now it involves the fate of all Greece. Besides, would 
it not be insufferable that, after being the authors of all 
these ills, the Athenians should become the agents in 
reducing the other Greeks to slavery? And they too 
who always, and from the most remote times, have shown 
themselves the liberators of nations. Afflicted as you 
are, we do indeed sympathize with you, who have now 
been deprived of two harvests, and have had your homes 
a long time laid in ruins. On account of these losses the 
Lacedaemonians and the Confederates engage to receive 
and sustain your wives, and as many of your domestics 
as are unfit to serve in the war, so long as it shall con- 
tinue. But let not Alexander the Macedonian prevail 
with you — glossing as he does the message of Mardonius. 
Such a part is indeed proper enough for him — himself a 
tyrant, he toils for a tyrant. But a different course be- 
comes you, if indeed you are wise ; knowing well as you 
do, that with Barbarians there is neither faith nor truth." 
Thus spoke the ambassadors. 

The Athenians replied to Alexander in the following 
terms : — " We do indeed well know that the power of the 
Medes very far surpasses our own; nor was there any 
need that you should aggravate to our view that fact. 
And yet so eagerly do we cling to our liberty, that, be 
our powers what they may, we will use them to the 
uttermost in its defence. Attempt not to induce us to 
make terms with the Barbarian ; never shall we be per- 
suaded to do so. Go therefore, and tell Mardonius that 
the Athenians declare that, so long as the sun holds the 
same course as now, we will never make peace with 
Xerxes; but trusting to the aid of the gods, we shall 
resolutely oppose him; and we confide in the heroes, 
whose dwelling places and whose statues he, without 
(143) 



650 REPLY OF THE ATHENIANS 

dread, has burned. — As for yourself, never again come 
to make propositions like these to the Athenians; nor 
think to recommend a course so abhorrent as if you would 
promote our best interests; for we are unwilling that 
you should receive at the hands of the Athenians any 
ungracious treatment, being as you are, our guest and 
friend." Thus did they answer Alexander: and then 
the Spartan deputies, as follows — "That the Lace- 
daemonians should fear our making terms with the Bar- 
barian was, on ordinary principles, natural ; and yet it 
seems on your part a most unworthy fear — knowing per- 
fectly as you do the mind of the Athenians. The earth 
no where holds a treasure so large, nor is there on its 
surface a land so fair and so fertile as could induce us to 
take part with the Medes, and bring Greece into bond- 
age. Great and many are the reasons which must forbid 
our thus acting, even if we were inclined so to do. — 
First and chief are the statues and the abodes of the 
gods, burned and laid in ruins, whom we are bound to 
the utmost of our power to avenge ; nor could we possibly 
form friendship with him who has perpetrated these out- 
rages. Then again the Grecian community being of one 
blood, and of one language, and having in common the 
same sacred structures, and the same sacrifices, and using 
the same manners, the Athenians would deem it a most 
nefarious thing to become the betrayers of Greece. 
Know then, now, if indeed you have never known it 
before, that while one Athenian survives, we will never 
make peace with Xerxes. We take in good part your 
concern and forethought for us, whose ruined fortunes 
you so far consider as to be willing to maintain our 
households : your benevolence has done its part. But 
we will so economize such means as we have, as shall 
prevent our being burdensome to you. Now therefore, 
things being as they are, do you despatch your army with 

(144) 



TO THE SPARTANS. 651 

all possible haste, for, as we conjecture, the Barbarian 
will present himself, and invade our territory instantly 
when he shall receive tidings of our refusal to comply 
with any of his proposals. And it will be for us, before 
he shall reach Attica, to meet him in Bceotia." On 
receiving this answer from the Athenians, the Spartans 
returned home. 



BOOK IX. 



CALLIOPE. 



SECTION I. 

SECOND ABANDONMENT OF ATHENS. RETURN OF 
THE PERSIANS TO B030TIA. 

When on the return of Alexander, Mardonius learned 
the reply of the Athenians, he set out from Thessaly, 
and led the army by rapid marches towards Athens, and 
on his way took up all the forces of the countries through 
which he passed. The Thessalian chiefs, far from re- 
penting of what they had already done, more than ever 
urged the Persian to proceed. And Thorax of Larissa, 
who had attended Xerxes on his flight, now openly aided 
Mardonius in the invasion of Greece. But the Thebans, 
while the army was proceeding through Bceotia, endea- 
voured to arrest his progress, and gave it as their opinion 
that there was no region so fit for his encampment as that 
in which he then halted, and that he should not advance 
further, but that fixing his station there, he might van- 
quish all Greece without fighting a battle. "To con- 
quer Greece," said they, "by force of arms, while it 
continues united, as at present, would be a difficult 
matter, even were all nations to attempt it. But if you 
adopt the measures we recommend, you may without toil 
over-reach all their plans. Send gold to the most powerful 

(2) 



SECOND CAPTURE OF ATHENS. 653 

individuals in the several states; in so doing you will 
split Greece into parties, and then, with great ease you 
may, with the aid of the factious, overpower those who 
are disinclined to submit." 

Such was their advice ; but Mardonius, inspired with 
the desire of again taking Athens, would not yield to it. 
His foolish arrogance made him impatient to see the 
signal-torches kindled from isle to isle, announcing to the 
king at Sardis that he possessed Athens. On his arrival 
at Athens, he again found it deserted by the Athenians, 
who, as he learned, had, for the most part, retired to 
Salamis, or to the other islands. He therefore took the 
empty city : this second capture by Mardonius took place 
ten months after the first by the king. 

From Athens Mardonius despatched to Salamis a Hel- 
lespontine, named Murichides, bearing to the Athenians 
the same proposals which Alexander of Macedon had 
conveyed to them. He sent this message a second time 
to them, though well knowing their inimical feelings; 
yet he hoped that as they now saw the whole of Attica 
captured and in his power, they might recede somewhat 
from their obstinacy. It was with this expectation 
that he sent Murichides to Salamis. On his arrival, he 
addressed to the council the message of Mardonius. On 
this occasion Lycidas, one of the senators, gave it as his 
opinion—" That it would be better to admit the propo- 
sition which Murichides had brought, and to report it 
to the people." In giving this advice, it might be that 
he had accepted money from Mardonius ; or perhaps he 
really wished what he proposed. But the Athenians, 
moved instantly with deep indignation — those of the 
council, and those without, who learned what had taken 
place, surrounded Lycidas, and stoned him to death; 
but Murichides the Hellespontine, they sent away 
unhurt. In the tumult which took place in Salamis at 
the death of Lycidas, the Athenian women, who had gained 

(4) 



654 EVASIONS PRACTISED BY 

intelligence of the affair, inciting one another by cheers, 
went, unauthorized, and attacked his house, and stoned 
his wife and his children. 

The circumstances under which the Athenians had 
passed over to Salamis were these: — So long as they 
were in expectation that an army from Peloponnesu 
would come to their support, they remained in Attica. 
But as the Peloponnesians used every delay, and moved 
with extreme tardiness, and as the Barbarian was said to 
be advancing, and even already in Bosotia, they trans- 
ported all their effects, and themselves passed over to 
Salamis ; at the same time they despatched messengers to 
Lacedaemon, to upbraid their allies for witnessing the 
invasion of Attica by the Barbarian, without joining them 
to oppose him in Bceotia. They moreover reminded the 
Lacedaemonians of the promises made to them by the 
Persian, if they would change sides; and they gave 
them warning that unless succoured, the Athenians 
would find for themselves a way of escape from impending 
evils. 

The Lacedaemonians were at this time celebrating a 
festival — the Hyacinthia, and were very seriously intent 
upon acquitting themselves towards the divinity. At 
the same time they busied themselves in completing the 
wall at the Isthmus, which was now receiving its breast- 
work. With the Athenian deputies came those of Megara 
and Plataea, who together appearing before the Ephors, 
thus addressed them : — 

" The Athenians have sent us to tell you that the king 
of the Medes not only would restore to us our country, 
but would treat us as friends, on terms of equality, and 
form an alliance without fraud or deceit. He is willing 
also to grant us any country we shall choose in addition 
to our own. — But we, in reverence of the Grecian Jove, 
and abhorring to betray Greece, do not consent to his 
offers, but repel them, although injured and betrayed by 

(7 



THE LACEDiEMONIANS. 655 

the Greeks, and although, to form friendship with the 
Persian were, as we well know, vastly more advantageous 
to us than to carry on the war against him ; and yet we 
will never of free will make peace. Thus sincerely have 
we acted towards the Greeks. But you, who came to 
Athens in so much alarm, fearing that we should make 
our peace with the Persian, now, since you have perfectly 
learned our dispositions, and are assured that we will 
never betray Greece, and now, moreover, that the wall 
you have been raising across the Isthmus is on the point 
of completion, now, forsooth, you utterly disregard the 
Athenians ! And although you had agreed with us to 
oppose the Persian in Boeotia, you have proved false to 
us, and winked at the invasion of Attica by the Bar- 
barian. The Athenians are therefore at the present 
moment enraged against you, for you have altogether 
failed in your part. Yet they insist upon your instantly 
sending out an army to join them, that they may meet 
the Barbarian in Attica, and though we have fallen short 
of Boeotia, the Thriasian plain, in our own territory, is a 
very fit place for engaging the enemy." 

Having listened to this address, the Ephors deferred 
till the next day to give their answer. And on the next 
day they again named the morrow ; and so from day to 
day, until ten days were passed. Meanwhile the Pelo- 
ponnesians, with their utmost efforts united, were finishing 
the wall at the Isthmus — and it was now just completed. 
Why it was that the Lacedaemonians, when Alexander 
came to Athens, used so much diligence to prevent the 
Athenians from joining the Medes, and why, at this time, 
they were quite indifferent on that head, I cannot other- 
wise explain, than by the fact that now the Isthmus was 
fortified, and therefore they thought they had no more need 
of the Athenians. But at the period when Alexander 
arrived in Attica, they were far from having raised the 
(8) 



656 ' ADVICE OF CHILEUS. 

wall to a sufficient height, though working at it in great 
dread of the Persians. 

But at length an answer, and the despatch of troops 
were obtained from the Spartans by the following means. 
The day preceding that on which the last assembly was 
to be held on the subject, Chileus, a citizen of Tegea, and 
possessed beyond any other stranger of influence among 
the Lacedaemonians, having learned from the Ephors the 
whole purport of what the Athenian deputies had said, 
expressed himself to the following effect: — " Ephors, 
the state of affairs is this-— let but the Athenians with- 
draw themselves from our alliance, and join the Barbarian, 
and though the wall at the Isthmus were as strong or as 
high as may be, wide doors into the Peloponnesus would 
stand open to the Persian. But rather listen to the 
Athenians, ere they adopt some course which shall be 
ruinous to Greece." 

The Ephors upon taking this advice into consideration, 
instantly, and without giving any notice to the deputies 
from the states, despatched, during the night, five thou- 
sand Spartans, each of whom was attended by seven 
helots. They were commanded by Pausanias, son of 
Cleombrotus. The command belonged to Plistarchus, 
son of Leonidas ; but he was yet a youth, and under the 
tutelage of his cousin, Pausanias. For Cleombrotus, 
father of Pausanias, and son of Anaxandrides, no longer 
survived, but had died shortly after leading back the 
army that had been employed in constructing the wall. 
Cleombrotus led back the army from the Isthmus, because, 
while performing a sacrifice to know if he should attack 
the Persian, the sun became black in the heavens. Pau- 
sanias chose as his colleague Euryanax, son of Dorieus, a 
member of his own family. 

The forces under Pausanias had left Sparta, when, 
on the following morning, the deputies, knowing nothing 

(ID 



MESSAGE OP THE ARGIVES. 657 

of their departure, presented themselves before the 
Ephors : they had resolved to depart severally to their 
homes. They thus spoke : — " You Lacedaemonians re- 
main here celebrating the Hyacinthia, and playing like 
boys, while you are betraying your allies. Meanwhile 
the Athenians, so much injured by you, and destitute of 
allies, will make peace with the Persian on the best 
terms they can ; and having done so, it is evident that, 
being numbered with the king's confederates, they must 
fight under his orders, in whatever country he may 
direct, and then you will have to learn what the conse- 
quence will be to yourselves." When they had thus 
spoken, the Ephors said, with an oath, that they believed 
the troops sent against the foreigners had reached Ores- 
teum — they called the Barbarians foreigners. The mes- 
sengers, ignorant of the fact, asked what they meant, and 
in answer learned the whole truth. In great surprise 
they set out with all speed to follow the army, and with 
them went five thousand select and heavy-armed Lacedae- 
monians, drawn from the vicinity. These hastened to- 
wards the Isthmus. 

The Argives no sooner heard of the march of the Spar- 
tans under Pausanias, than they despatched a herald — 
the most accomplished courier they could find, to Attica ; 
for they had before promised Mardonius to prevent the 
Spartans from leaving Peloponnesus. This courier 
arriving at Athens thus spoke: — "Mardonius! the 
Argives have sent me to tell you that the Lacedaemonian 
youth are come out, and to say that the Argives are not 
able to obstruct their progress : consider well, therefore, 
what you are to do." So saying he retired. And Mar- 
donius after receiving this intelligence, was by no means 
eager to stay any longer in Attica. Hitherto indeed he 
had lingered there, wishing to know what part the 
Athenians would take, and during this time he neither 
wasted nor damaged the Attic territory ; for he still 
(13) 2 u 



658 ABANDONMENT OF ATTICA. 

hoped, in the end, to make terms with them. But as he 
could not prevail with them, and had learned their mind, 
he departed before the forces with Pausanias should reach 
the Isthmus : but first he burned Athens ; and whatever 
of the walls, of the houses, or of the temples was still 
standing, he threw down, and laid in heaps. His reasons 
for leaving Attica were that the country was not fit for 
the movements of horse, and that in the event of his 
being defeated, he had no other way of escape than by a 
narrow space, where a small force might prevent his 
passing. He therefore determined to return to Thebes, 
and to meet the enemy near a friendly city, and in a 
country proper for cavalry. 

Mardonius, we say, withdrew from Attica, and while 
on the march there met him a messenger in all haste, 
announcing that another body of a thousand Lacedaemo- 
nians was advancing through Megara. On learning this, 
he formed the wish, if possible, to attack them separately, 
and with this view he turned his march towards Megara, 
and an advanced body of horse actually rode upon the 
Megarean territory ; this was the furthest point of Euro- 
pean ground, towards the west, which was attained by 
this Persian army. Presently afterward news reached 
Mardonius that the Greeks were collected in numbers at 
the Isthmus ; he therefore retraced his steps by Decelea ; 
for the Boeotian chiefs had sent with him, as guides, per- 
sons bordering upon the Asopians, who led him the way 
to Sphendale, and thence to Tanagra, where he halted 
for the night, and the next day he bent his course to- 
wards Scolus, in the Theban territory, and these lands 
he cleared of trees, though the Thebans were in his 
interests : this he did not with any inimical intention 
towards them ; but under the compulsion of extreme 
necessity : for he thought proper to construct a fortified 
camp, that in the event of an unlooked-for defeat, it 
might serve as an asylum. This encampment commenced 

(15) 



ENTERTAINMENT AT THEBES. 659 

on the lands of Erythrae, near Hysiae, and extended to 
the territory of the Platseans, along the banks of the 
Asopus. Not indeed that the fence was of this extent, 
for the space inclosed measured not more than about ten 
furlongs on each side. 

While the Barbarians were employed in this labour, 
Attaginus, son of Phrynon, a Theban, having made vast 
preparations, invited to an entertainment Mardonius 
himself, and fifty of the most distinguished Persians who 
were in his train. The feast was held at Thebes. The 
particulars of what occurred, which have been handed 
dowu, I heard from Thersander of Orchomenus, one of 
the most respectable citizens of that place. This Ther- 
sander related that he himself was invited by Attaginus 
to the supper, as one of fifty Thebans who were present. 
The Thebans and Persians were not placed apart; but 
each couch was occupied by a Theban and a Persian. 
After supper, as they were drinking one against another, 
the Persian on the same couch with Thersander, asked 
him in Greek of what country he was, and when he 
replied — of Orchomenus, he said : — -" Since now you are 
my companion at table and at the cup, I wish to leave 
with you a memorial of my opinion, and which may also 
serve to guide you in directing your own course of conduct 
for the best. Do you behold these Persians who are 
feasting here, and the army we have left encamped on 
the banks of the river? Of all these whom you see, 
there will survive, after a certain short time has elapsed, 
only some few individuals." As the Persian spoke these 
words, he shed an abundance of tears. Thersander, in 
amazement at what he had uttered, said to him: — 
" Ought you not then to communicate to Mardonius and 
to the Persians in his favour what you have advanced?" 
To this he replied :— " My friend, what God has deter- 
mined to happen, may by no device of man be averted. 
Nor will any one (Mardonius) be persuaded by those who 
(16) 2 u 2 



660 TRIAL OF PHOCIAN VALOUR. 

speak what truly deserves attention.* Many of these 
Persians are well assured of the same fact ; but we fol- 
low our leader, bound by necessity. The bitterest anguish 
to which humanity is liable, is for a man to know well 
what ought to be done, without having the least power 
to use that knowledge." Such is the relation I heard 
from Thersander of Orchomenus, and as he himself said, 
he had told the same thing to several persons before the 
battle had taken place at Plataea. 

While Mardonius was encamped {the first time) in 
Boeotia, all the Greeks of that region who favoured the 
Medes furnished troops and attended in his attack 
upon Athens : — the Phocians only excepted, for if they 
had taken that part it was not willingly, but by necessity. 
Not many days after the arrival of the Persians at Thebes, 
there came a body of their heavy armed troops, a thou- 
sand strong, under the command of Harmocydes, a man 
of the very highest reputation among the citizens. When 
these Phocians reached Thebes, Mardonius sent out 
horsemen, commanding them to fix their station by 
themselves on the plain, apart from the army. When 
they had done so, the cavalry came up to them in full 
force, and the report spread through the camp of the 
Greeks on the side of the Medes, that they were about to 
despatch them with javelins ; and the same belief was 
entertained by the Phocians themselves. Upon this, 
Harmocydes their general encouraged them in the fol- 
lowing words : — " Phocians ! it is quite evident that these 
men have devoted us to an inevitable death, in conse- 
quence, as I conjecture, of the calumnies of the Thessa- 
lians. Now, therefore, there is need that each man of 
you should be valiant ; for it is better that we should meet 
our end in action, and defending ourselves to the last, 
than offer ourselves to perish by an inglorious fate. 



TriffTci — assertions worthy of faith — agreeable to right reason. 



(17) 



ADVANCE OP THE PELOPONNESIANS. 661 

Rather let each of them learn that it is men of Greece 
whose slaughter they — Barbarians as they are — have 
compassed." 

Such was his animating address ; but the horse only 
formed a circle around them, and charged towards them 
as if to destroy them, and extended their javelins as if 
about to let fly, and here and there, one actually threw 
his dart. But the Phocians presented an opposing front 
in every direction, closing their ranks as much as pos- 
sible ; and at length the cavalry turned away and retired. 
I am unable with certainty to say whether they really 
advanced at the request of the Thessalians to destroy the 
Phocians, but seeing them put themselves in a posture of 
defence, feared lest the slaughter should b e on their own 
side, and so retired — as Mardonius had instructed them 
to do ; or whether they only wished to make trial of the 
prowess of the Phocians. When the cavalry had retired, 
Mardonius sent a herald to them with this message — 
" Be of good heart Phocians ! you have proved yourselves 
brave men, and I see that you are not such as I had been 
informed. Now therefore lend your aid zealously in this 
war, and you shall not vanquish either me or the king in 
benefits. 



SECTION II. 

ENCAMPMENT OF THE TWO ARMIES AT THE ASOPUS. 
DISPUTES AMONG THE GREEKS. 

The Lacedaemonians arriving at the Isthmus, formed 
their camp there. The other Peloponnesians hearing of 
it — those of them who took the better part — and seeing 
(19) 2 u 3 



662 CHARGES OP THE PERSIAN HORSE. 

the Spartans issuing forth, would not be left behind 
while the Lacedaemonians were advancing. The auspices 
being favourable, they all marched forwards from the 
Isthmus, and arrived at Eleusis: — there again they 
consulted the victims, and the presages being still fa- 
vourable, they proceeded onwards. Meanwhile the 
Athenians had passed over from Salamis, and had joined 
their forces to those of the allies at Eleusis. When they 
reached Erythree in Boeotia, they learned that the Bar- 
barians were encamped upon the Asopus. After holding 
a conference upon this news, they formed themselves 
opposite at the foot of Mount Cithseron. 

As the Greeks did not descend into the plain, Mar- 
donius sent against them the entire body of the cavalry 
under its commander Masistius — called by the Greeks 
Makistius, who was in high repute among the Persians : 
he rode a Nissean horse, with a golden bridle, and other- 
wise gorgeously caparisoned. In advancing towards the 
Greeks, the Persians charged them in squadrons, and 
inflicted upon them a considerable loss, at the same time 
calling them women. The Megareans happened to be 
stationed on that part of the ground which was the most 
exposed to the enemy, and where chiefly the cavalry made 
their attack. Thus pressed upon, they sent a herald to 
the Greek generals, who thus addressed them — "The 
Megareans say — Confederates ! we are not able alone to 
receive the Persian horse, in this station where we were 
at first placed. Nevertheless, hitherto we have with 
assiduity and valour stood our ground, although hardly 
pressed. But now, unless you send some other troops 
to take our place, know that we shall quit our post." 

On receiving this message, Pausanias inquired of the 
Greeks if there were any of them who would volunteer to 
proceed to the spot, and take up the position of the 
Megareans. None of the others being willing to do so, 
the Athenians undertook the service : — it was a band of 

(21) 



FATE OF MASISTIUS. 663 

three hundred Athenians, commanded by Olympiodorus, 
son of Lampon, who before all the other Greeks posted 
at Erythrae, engaged to take this station. — They took 
with them some archers. After the fight had continued 
some time it ended in the following manner : — As the 
cavalry were charging in squadrons, the horse of Masis- 
tius, who rode in front of the line, received an arrow in 
the flank, and rearing with the anguish, threw his rider : 
it was just as he fell that the Athenians came up ; they 
seized the horse, and while he defended himself slew 
him. At first indeed they were unable to do so, for he was 
provided with a golden coat of mail, within a corselet, 
over which he wore a purple cloak. In vain they dealt 
their blows upon this corselet : at length some one under- 
standing the reason, smote him in the eye, and he fell 
dead. This transaction was unperceived by the cavalry, 
who had neither seen his fall nor death ; for just at the 
moment they had turned and were wheeling off the ground, 
and therefore knew nothing of what had happened ; but 
on making a halt, they presently found the want of a 
leader to marshal the array. Then learning the fact, 
they cheered, and all charged together to recover the 
corpse. 

The Athenians seeing that the enemy was now ad- 
vancing, not in squadrons (as before) but all together, 
loudly called upon the rest of the army, and while the 
infantry was advancing to their aid, a sharp contest took 
place for the body of the general; hitherto the three 
hundred were alone, and being greatly outnumbered, they 
lost possession of the corpse ; but when the other Greeks 
came up in force, the cavalry no longer stood their ground, 
and instead of carrying off the corpse, many of them fell 
slain around it. Retiring to the distance of about two 
furlongs, they consulted about what ought to be done, 
and being without a commander, they thought proper to 
return to Mardonius. On the arrival of the cavalry at 
(24) 2 u 4 



664 REMOVAL OF THE GRECIAN CAMP. 

the camp, the whole army uttered their grief for Masis- 
tius, and especially Mardonius. All cut off their own 
hair, and that of their horses and beasts of carriage, and 
gave themselves up to unbounded lamentations : — all 
Boeotia resounded with their woe. For next to Mardonius 
there was no man so highly esteemed by the Persians and, 
the king as he who had perished. Thus the Barbarians, 
according to their manner, honoured Masistius. 

The Greeks having in this manner sustained, and even 
repulsed the charge of the cavalry, were very greatly 
enheartened. In the first place, putting the corpse of 
Masistius on a car, they carried it through the ranks, and 
truly the body was worthy of admiration, for the size and 
beauty of his person ; and in fact, the men, leaving their 
ranks, came forwards to contemplate the dead Masistius : 
and with this intention it was carried about. In the next 
place they determined to descend towards Platsea, for the 
grounds around that city appeared to them far more 
commodious for encamping than the neighbourhood of 
Erythrse, on several accounts; especially because there 
was a better supply of water. They therefore thought 
it best to remove, and proceed to that district, and to fix 
their camp near the Gargaphian spring, which rises 
there. Assuming their arms, they marched, along the 
foot of Cithaeron, and near Hysias, into the Plataean 
territory. When arrived, they formed in order, nation 
by nation, in the immediate vicinity of the Gargaphian 
spring, and of the temple of the hero Androcrates, on 
the slight elevations, and on the levels. 

When the army was to be marshalled in this station, a 
long dispute took place between the Tegeans and the 
Athenians, each thinking themselves entitled to occupy 
the other* wing, and in support of their claims advanced 

* To the Lacedaemonians was conceded the right of choosing which 
wing they would occupy. 

(26) 



PRETENSIONS OF THE TEGEANS. 665 

severally their recent and their ancient exploits. First 
spoke the Tegeans as follows : — " This station has ever 
been deemed our right by all our confederates of Pelo- 
ponnesus, as often as we have been associated in expe- 
ditions, both in ancient times and of late. When, after 
the death of Eurystheus, the Heraclids endeavoured to 
return to Peloponnesus, we obtained this honour on the 
following occasion — With the Achasans and Ionians, who 
then dwelt in Peloponnesus, we marched to the Isthmus, 
and posted ourselves opposite to the invaders : then 
Hyllus is said to have proposed that, instead of hazarding 
the two armies in a battle, the Peloponnesians should fix 
upon the man among themselves whom they judged the 
most valiant, to engage in a single combat with himself, 
on conditions to be agreed upon. The Peloponnesians 
thought the proposition eligible, and oaths were taken to 
this effect, that if Hyllus vanquished the Peloponnesian 
chief, the Heraclids should be suffered to return to their 
paternal lands ; but if he was vanquished, they . should 
retire with their army, and not, during a hundred years, 
seek to return to Peloponnesus. By the common consent 
of all the confederates, Echemus, son of Aeropus, son of 
Phageus {or Cepheus), and who was our general and 
king, was adjudged to fight this single combat, and he 
slew Hyllus. On account of this achievement we ob- 
tained, among the Peloponnesians, then many signal dis- 
tinctions which we still retain, and among them the 
honour of occupying the other wing in all expeditions in 
which the Peloponnesians are confederated. With you, 
Lacedaemonians, we do not contend; but concede to 
you the right of choosing which you please of the two 
wings to command. But of the other, the command, as 
on all former occasions, comes to us. But besides the 
claim founded on the achievement we have mentioned, 
we are more worthy to hold this station than the Athe- 
nians, on account of the many well fought contests we 
(26) 



666 CLAIMS OP THE ATHENIANS. 

have had with (for) you Spartans, and with others. It 
is therefore just that we, rather than they, should have 
the command of the other wing, for their exploits — nei- 
ther of late nor in ancient times, are to be compared 
with ours." 

To this speech the Athenians replied in the following 
terms : — " We understand that this assembly is drawn 
together for the purpose of fighting the Barbarian, not of 
uttering speeches. But since the Tegean has proposed to 
adduce glorious actions of both people in all times, we are 
necessitated to make known to you whence is derived our 
ancient right — ever brave as we are — to take precedence of 
the Arcadians (the Tegeans included). In the first place 
— the Heraclids, Whose chief they affirm themselves to 
have slain at the Isthmus, having been expelled in turn 
by all the Greeks, among whom they sought refuge when, 
escaping from servitude under the Mycenseans, we alone 
received, and ended the outrages of Eurystheus, when 
with them we vanquished those who then held Pelopon- 
nesus. In the next place, when the Argives, under 
Polynices, made an incursion upon the Thebans, and 
were slain, and lay unburied on the field, we, as we are 
wont to affirm, attacked the Cadmseans, bore away the 
bodies, and buried them in our own territory at Eleusis. 
Then again, we achieved a signal victory over the Ama- 
zons, who, from the river Thermodon, once made an 
irruption into Attica. Nor were we inferior to others 
in the Trojan war. But what purpose can it serve to 
recal these events ? for those who once were brave, may 
now be the most cowardly ; while those who then were 
cowardly, may now be more than others valiant. Enough 
then of ancient exploits ! Had we nothing else to adduce 
— though indeed we have as many and as brilliant ex- 
ploits as any other people of Greece to mention — yet 
alone, on account of what we accomplished at Marathon, 
are we worthy of holding this honour, and indeed of 

(27) 



ARRAY OF THE GREEKS. 667 

other honours too — we alone of the Greeks, engaged, in 
our single strength, the Persian ; and though the enter- 
prize was so great to attempt, we were successful, and 
actually vanquished six and forty nations. Are we not 
therefore worthy, on the sole account of this action, to 
obtain the post in question ? And yet, as on an occasion 
like this, it is most unfit to be factiously contending for 
precedence, we are prepared to yield obedience to you, 
Lacedaemonians, in whatever post it shall seem to you 
best to place us, and to engage with whatever foe. 
Wherever stationed, we shall endeavour to acquit our- 
selves as brave men. Lead on then, and we obey." 
Thus answered the Athenians, and the whole army of 
the Lacedaemonians, with loud acclamation, declared that 
the Athenians were more worthy than the Arcadians to 
command the other wing. Thus the Athenians held it, 
and the Tegeans were overcome. 

After this had passed, the Greeks, as well those who 
had come up as those who arrived first, formed their line 
in the following order. The Lacedaemonians, ten thou- 
sand strong, occupied the right wing: of these, five 
thousand were Spartans, attended by thirty-five thousand 
light armed helots — seven to each Spartan. Next to 
themselves the Spartans stationed the Tegeans, both for 
honour and valour : they had one thousand five hundred 
heavy armed troops. Then came the Corinthians, five 
thousand strong ; and next to them, at their request, Pau- 
sanias placed the three hundred Potidaeans, who had 
come from Pallene. Then six hundred Arcadian Orcho- 
menians ; then six thousand Sicyonians, and eight hundred 
Epidaurians. Next to them were placed one thousand 
Trcezenians, and two hundred Lepreates, and four hun- 
dred Mycenaeans and Tirynthians. After these stood one 
thousand Phliasians; and then three hundred Hermio- 
nians. These had next them six hundred Eretrians and 
Styrians, and four hundred Chalcidians'; beyond whom 
(28) 



668 NUMBERS OF THE GREEKS. 

were five hundred Ampracians ; then eight hundred 
Leucadians and Anactorians, and two hundred Palians 
from Cephallenia. After these were placed five hundred 
-ZEginetans, and next three thousand Megareans ; near to 
whom were six hundred Platasans, and lastly, though 
first on the left wing, the Athenians, eight thousand 
strong, commanded by Aristides, son of Lysimachus. 

All these, excepting the helots, seven to each Spartan, 
were heavy armed troops, and amounted to thirty-eight 
thousand seven hundred, which was the entire number of 
the heavy armed troops collected on this occasion to 
oppose the Barbarian. The light armed troops were 
these : the thirty-five thousand helots, seven to a man, 
attending upon the Spartans ; and these were all able- 
bodied men for the war. The light armed troops attend- 
ant upon the other Lacedaemonians, and the rest of the 
Greeks, were thirty-four thousand five hundred, one man 
to each of the heavy armed, and making the whole num- 
ber of the light armed sixty-nine thousand five hundred. 
Thus then the Greek army assembled at Plataea consisted, 
altogether, of a hundred and eight thousand two hundred 
fighting men, heavy and light armed. Or, including the 
Thespians, who also were there, the numbers would be 
completed to a hundred and ten thousand. In fact, one 
thousand eight hundred Thespians who had survived (the 
slaughter at Thermopylae), were present ; but not heavily 
armed. Such was the army that encamped in their ranks 
on the borders of the Asopus. 



(30) 



669 



SECTION III. 

INAUSPICIOUS OMENS ON BOTH SIDES. EMBARRASS- 
MENTS AND MOVEMENTS OF THE GREEKS. 

The Barbarians with Mardonius having ceased to 
lament Masistius, and being informed that the Greeks 
were at Plataea, themselves advanced to the Asopus, 
which passes through the territory of that city. Mar- 
donius ranged the Persians opposite to the Lacedaemo- 
nians; but as they greatly exceeded them in numbers, 
he formed them many ranks deep, and extended them 
so as to include the Tegeans ; and at the suggestion, and 
under the direction of the Thebans, he made a selection 
even among the Persians, placing the most powerful 
of them opposite to the Lacedaemonians, and the more 
infirm against the Tegeans. Next to the Persians he 
ranged the Medes, who stood opposed to the Corinthians, 
the Potidaeans, the Orchomenians, and the Sicyonians. 
Next to the Medes were the Bactrians, who faced the 
Epidaurians, the Trcezenians, the Lepreates, the Tiryn- 
thians, the Mycenaeans, and the Phliasians. Beyond the 
Bactrians were the Indians, who extended in front of 
the Hermionians, the Eretrians, the Styrians, and the 
Chalcidians. The Saces were posted next, and opposed 
the Amphracians, the Anactorians, the Leucadians, the 
Palians* and the iEginetans. Next to the Saces, and 
opposite to the Athenians, the Plataeans, and the Mega- 
reans, Mardonius stationed the Boeotians, the Locrians, 
the Melians, the Thessalians, and the thousand Phocians ; 
for it was not all the Phocians that took part with the 
Medes, some of them being collected about Parnassus, 
aided the Greeks by making sorties thence as occasion 
(31) 



670 ARRAY OF THE BARBARIANS. 

offered, harassing the army of Mardonius, and the 
Greeks under him. He placed also opposite to the Athe- 
nians the Macedonians, and the people bordering upon 
Thessaly. 

The troops of the nations above-mentioned, as thus 
marshalled by Mardonius, were those that were the most 
noted and had the highest reputation for valour. Among 
them there were mingled some few of other nations, as 
of the Phrygians and the Thracians, the Mysians, the 
Paeonians, and some of the others. And also some 
^Ethiopians, and those Egyptians called Hermotybies 
and Calasiries (p. 177) who alone follow the profession of 
arms. These had manned the fleet, nor had formed part 
of the army under Xerxes that entered Attica ; but while 
stationed at Phalerum, they had been drawn from their 
ships. The Barbarians were, as I have already said, 
three hundred thousand strong. The numbers of the 
Greeks in alliance with Mardonius I cannot state ; 
for they were never accurately reckoned, yet one might 
guess them at fifty thousand. Such was the array of 
the infantry. The cavalry were marshalled apart. 

The two armies being thus arranged by nations and 
battalions, the next day both performed sacrifices. The 
sacrificer for the Greeks was Tisamenus, son of Antiochus, 
who was the seer that attended this army. 

[He was an Elian, and by extraction a Clytiad of the 
Jamidian stock, and had been received as a citizen by the 
Lacedaemonians : ^-Tisamenus having consulted the Delphic 
oracle concerning progeny, was told by the Pythian that he 
should be victor in five signal combats, and he, mistaking the 
meaning of the response, addicted himself to gymnastic exer- 
cises, as if in expectation of being victor in those combats ; and 
after training himself in the five exercises, he contended in the 
Olympic games with Hieronymus of Andros, and was victor 
in all except wrestling. But the Lacedaemonians understand- 
ing that it was not to gymnastic exercises, but to martial 

(33) 



STORY OF TISAMENUS. 671 

eoatests that the oracle addressed to Tisamenus really re- 
ferred, endeavoured to induce him by rewards to accompany 
the kings — the descendants of the Heraclids, as guide in their 
wars. But he, perceiving that the Spartans considered it as a 
matter of great importance to gain him as their friend, raised 
the price of his services, and signified to them that " if they 
would admit him among them as a citizen, and grant him a 
full participation of all privileges, he would comply with their 
wishes ; but for no other consideration." On first hearing 
this demand, the Spartans were extremely indignant, and 
dismissed altogether the thought of employing his services. 
But at length, while under lively fear of the impending Per- 
sian invasion, they sent for him, and offered him his terms. 
Then seeing them come round to his proposition, he declared 
he could not be satisfied with that alone ; but must have his 
brother Hegias also made a Spartan citizen, with the same 
privileges as himself. In so doing he imitated Melampus — 
if one might compare the regal dignity with the right of 
citizenship. For on an occasion when the women of Argos 
were afflicted with madness, the Argives offered him a reward 
to come from Pylos and heal their women of this disease ; but 
Melampus demanded the half of the kingdom. This demand 
they rejected, and went away ; but afterwards a still greater 
number of their women becoming insane, they determined to 
yield to the terms of Melampus, and went to Pylos to grant 
him what he asked. But then, seeing them changed in pur- 
pose, Melampus stretched his desires, and said that, " unless 
to his brother Bias they granted a third part of the kingdom, 
he would not do what they wished. The Argives, reduced as 
they were to extreme distress, consented even to this. And 
"thus the Spartans, having urgent need of the services of 
Tisamenus, granted him fully his own terms — and he and his 
brother are the only strangers ever admitted among the citizens 
of Sparta. This Tisamenus the Elian, become a Spartan — 
in quality of seer, took part with them in five signal vic- 
tories. The first of which was that at Plataea;— next, that 
obtained over the Tegeans and Argives at Tegea ; next 
that at Diprea, over all the Arcadians, except the Man- 
(35) 



672 STORY OF HEGESISTRATUS. 

tineans ; then that over the Messenians, at the Isthmus 
(or at Ithoma) and lastly that at Tanagra, over the Athenians 
and Argives.] / 

This Tisamenus, brought by the Spartans, performed 
the rites of divination for the Greeks at Plataea. The 
auspices were fair for the Greeks while they remained on 
the defensive ; but not so if they passed the Asopus, and 
commenced the fight. And thus also, though Mardonius 
eagerly desired to bring on a battle, the victims gave no 
encouragement to his doing so; but were favourable to 
his acting on the defensive. He practised the Grecian 
modes of divination, having for his seer Hegesistratus, 
an Elian, and the most renowned of the Telliads.* 

[This Hegesistratus, having some time before inflicted many 
atrocities upon the Lacedaemonians, they had seized and bound 
him for death ; but he on this occasion, having not only to 
sustain the loss of life, but before death to endure many 
grievous torments, accomplished an ineffable achievement : — 
he was confined in stocks, lined with iron : having by chance 
got possession of a knife, he formed a plan requiring more 
courage than we have known ever before to be displayed : — 
after measuring how he might withdraw the rest (the heel) of 
the foot, he, with own hand, cut off the tarsus ; this done, the 
prison being guarded, he dug through the wall, and so escaped, 
and proceeded towards Tegea, travelling only by night, and 
keeping close in the woods during the day : in this manner, 
while the whole Lacedaemonian people were out in quest of 
him, he actually reached Tegea on the third night. The 
Spartans were in amazement at the audacity of the man, 
whose amputated foot they saw lying in the prison, though him 
they could not discover. Having in this manner escaped, he 
took refuge at Tegea, because at that time the Lacedaemonians 
were not in friendship with the Tegeans. When healed of his 

* A family of soothsayers — the descendants of Tellias. 

(37) 



DELAY OF BATTLE. 673 

wound, Hegesistratus made use of a wooden foot, and openly 
declared himself the enemy of the Lacedsemonians. And yet 
in the end, this animosity did not fall to his advantage ; for 
being taken prisoner by them in Zacynthus, while performing 
his function as a soothsayer, they put him to death. But this 
happened {long) after the battle of Plataea. At the time we 
are speaking of, he acted as seer to Mardonius at the Asopus, 
for no inconsiderable hire, and discharged his function with a 
forward zeal, incited both by his enmity to the Lacedaemo- 
nians, and by the love of lucre.] 

The auspices were, we have said, unfavourable to 
fighting, both to the Persians and to the Greeks under 
the Barbarian, who had a diviner apart to themselves — 
Hippomachus, a Leucadian. Meanwhile recruits were 
constantly flocking in to the Grecian army, and Mar- 
donius was advised by Timagenides, son of Herpys, a 
Theban, to guard the passes of Mount Cithaeron ; for, as 
he said, the Greeks were pouring through them daily, and 
he might capture great numbers. 

Already the two armies had remained opposed to each 
other eight days, when Mardonius received this advice, 
and he, perceiving the propriety of it, sent the cavalry the 
same evening to the passes of Mount Cithaeron, on the 
road to Plataea: — they are called by the Boeotians the 
Three Heads ; but by the Athenians the Heads of Oak. 
This detachment did not arrive in vain, for making an 
incursion upon the plain, they seized five hundred sumpter 
beasts, bringing corn for the army from Peloponnesus : 
the drivers also were taken, and the Persians who fell 
upon this prey put to the sword without mercy both man 
and beast ; and when they had had enough of slaughter, 
they drove what remained before them, and making a 
circuit, returned to Mardonius in the camp. 

Two more days passed after this exploit — neither army 
being willing to commence the attack : during this time the 
(40) 2 x 



674 CONSULTATIONS AMONG 

Barbarians advanced to the banks of the Asopus, to tempt 
the Greeks ; but neither would cross it. Still the cavalry 
of Mardonius approached the Greeks, and distressed 
them ; for the Thebans who very zealously affected the 
interests of the Medes, acted with great forwardness in 
the war, and constantly led on to the attack, and were 
succeeded by the Persians, and they by the Medes, who 
gave signal proofs of valour. 

Yet during these ten days, in which the armies had 
opposed each other at Plataea, nothing more than what 
has been mentioned had taken place; but on the 
eleventh, as the Greeks were now greatly reinforced, and 
Mardonius fretted under this state of inaction, he con- 
ferred with Artabazus, son of Pharnaces, who was one 
of the few Persians especially in the favour of Xerxes. 
These offered two opposite opinions. Artabazus thought 
" it would be best to break up the camp as speedily as 
possible, and to proceed to the walls of Thebes, in which 
city there was laid up a large store of grain, and hay for 
the cattle, and where they might remain quietly : mean- 
while, as they possessed a large quantity of gold, both 
coined and uncoined, and much silver, and many goblets, 
these treasures should, without spare, be sent among the 
Greeks, and particularly to the persons of most distinc- 
tion in the several states : if this were done, they would 
presently surrender the liberties of Greece, nor would be 
inclined to hazard a battle." The Thebans approved of 
the advice of Artabazus, thinking that he had more fore- 
sight than Mardonius. But the inclination of Mardonius 
was more vehement and more rash ; nor would he by any 
means give way to others. His army was, he said, in his 
opinion, vastly superior to that of the Greeks; battle 
ought therefore to be given immediately: nor should 
they wait till the enemy was augmented by new 
reinforcements. The divinations of Hegesistratus were 
therefore to be disregarded, and not their own customs 

(41) 



THE PERSIANS. 675 

violated, which required that battle should be given. 
As he thus decided, no one contradicted, and his opi- 
nion prevailed ; for it was to Mardonius, not to Artaba- 
zus, that the king had entrusted the command of the 
army. He therefore convoked the commanders of bat- 
talions, and the generals of the Greeks in his service, 
and inquired of them if they had knowledge of any 
oracle relating to the Persians, which predicted that they 
should be destroyed in Greece. 

Those convoked kept silence ; — some because they were 
ignorant of any such oracles, and others, who knew of 
them, because they thought it unsafe to speak. Mardo- 
nius then himself spoke thus : — " Since you either know 
of none such, or have not courage to speak, I will say 
that I am well aware there is an oracle predicting that 
the Persians should arrive in Greece, and pillage tlie 
temple of Delphi, and after sacking it, should all perish. 
We therefore, being well informed of this same predic- 
tion, have neither approached that temple, nor have 
attempted to plunder it ; and because we have not done 
so, we shall not perish. Wherefore as many of you as are 
well affected to the Persian interests, be of good cheer 
on this account, and be sure that we shall vanquish the 
Greeks." So said ; he, in the next place, issued orders 
that all should be put in readiness, and every proper 
arrangement made in expectation of a battle on the 
ensuing morning. 

This oracle which Mardonius affirmed to relate to the 
Persians, I am assured had reference to the Illyrians, and 
the army of the Enchelians, and not to the Persians. 
The oracle of JBacis concerning this battle is as follows : 



" Greeks with Barbarians, on your grassy banks — 
Asopus and Thennodon — close their ranks : 
They fall in death, amid the din of fight ; 
And bow-skilled Medes there last behold the light.' 

(43) 2x2 



676 INFORMATION GIVEN TO THE GREEKS 

These, and many others of a like kind of Musaeus, I know 
to have related to the Persians. The Thermodon runs 
between Tanagra and Glissas. 

After the inquiry concerning the oracles, and the ex- 
hortation given by Mardonius to the commanders, night 
was come, and the watch set. And now, some hours of 
darkness having passed— stillness seemed to reign through 
the camp, and men were in ) their deepest sleep; — 
at that hour Alexander, son of Amyntas, the general 
and king of the Macedonians, rode towards the watches 
of the Athenians, and demanded to confer with the 
chiefs. While most of the watch remained at their 
post, some ran to the generals, and told them that " a 
man had come up on horseback from the camp of the 
Medes, who uttered no other words than to name the 
generals, and to say he wished to confer with them." 
They, on hearing this, followed to the station of the 
watch, and when arrived there, were thus addressed by 
Alexander. 

" Athenians ! I am about to impart to you a commu- 
nication not to be divulged to any but Pausanias, lest you 
cause my destruction. Nor would I utter it, were I not 
in a high degree solicitous for the Grecian community ; 
for I indeed am, by ancient derivation, a Greek, nor 
would I see Greece exchange its freedom for slavery. I 
therefore tell you that Mardonius and his army are unable 
to obtain from the victims auspices such as they desire ; 
otherwise you had fought long ago. But now Mardonius 
has resolved to disregard the auspices, and at dawn of 
day to give battle ; for he fears, as I conjecture, lest you 
should receive new reinforcements. Hold yourselves 
therefore in readiness, and should he again defer the 
battle, remain at your post steadfastly, for in a few days 
provisions will fail them. And if this war should termi- 
nate as you wish, it will be just that you should bear it 
in mind to effect my freedom, who in zeal for the Greeks, 

(45) 



BY ALEXANDER. 677 

have performed so hazardous a part, that I might make 
known to you the intentions of Mardonius, lest the Bar- 
barians should happen to fall upon you unexpectedly. I 
am Alexander of Macedon." Having thus spoken, he 
retired, and returned to his post in the camp. 

The Athenian generals, going to the right wing of the 
army, repeated to Pausanias what they had heard from 
Alexander, and he, on receiving this intelligence, being 
filled with dread of the Persians, thus spoke : — " Since 
then battle is to be given at dawn, it will be proper that 
you Athenians should be stationed opposite to the Per- 
sians, and we opposite to the Boeotians, and those other 
Greeks who are now ranged against you : — and for this 
reason, that you know the Medes and their manner of 
fighting, having fought them at Marathon ; whereas we 
have made no trial of them, and know nothing of them 
by experience, for none of the Spartans (now in the army) 
have tried their strength with the Medes. But of the 
Boeotians and Thessalians we have made trial. Therefore 
it is needful that, on taking up our arms, you should 
come over to this wing, and we go to the left." To this 
the Athenians replied : — " We from the very first, when 
we saw the Persians ranged opposite to you, had in mind 
what you yourself now propose ; and should have said 
what we thought, had we not feared that the proposition 
might displease you. But as you have mentioned it, 
and as it is agreeable to us, we hold ourselves ready to 
do so." 

Both parties being pleased with this arrangement, at 
day-break the stations were changed ; and this being 
perceived by the Boeotians, they made it known to Mar- 
donius. He no sooner heard it, than he set about 
changing his own line — leading the Persians over against 
the Lacedaemonians. When Pausanias perceived what 
was taking place, and found that his own movements were 
not hidden, he led back the Spartans to the right wing ; 
(47) 2x3. 



G78 TAUNTS OF MARDONIUS. 

as did Mardonius the Persians, to the left. When the 
original order was restored, Mardonius sent a herald to 
the Spartans, who thus spoke — " Ah Lacedaemonians ! 
you are spoken of by the people of these parts as the 
bravest of men, who admire you exceedingly, because 
you never flee from the field of battle, nor leave your 
ranks ; but stand at your post, and either destroy your 
enemies, or yourselves perish. But not a word of all 
this is true ; for even before we have engaged you, or 
have come to blows, we behold you retreating, and leaving 
your post, and giving it to the Athenians to make the 
first trial of us ; while you range yourselves opposite to 
our slaves. This is by no means the conduct of brave 
men; what has been said of you is then utterly false. 
Judging by your celebrity, we had expected that you 
would send a herald to challenge us, and to declare your 
willingness alone to fight the Persians. But while we 
held ourselves prepared for this, we find you, far from 
making any such offer, skulking away. Yet since you are 
not forward to make this offer, we will be the first to pro- 
pose it. Shall not we {Persians and Lacedcemonians) 
fight — you for the Greeks, as you are famed to be the 
bravest ; and we for the Barbarians ; —the numbers being 
the same on both sides ? or if it shall please you that the 
others should fight also, let them fight afterwards ; but 
if not, and if it shall suffice for us alone to contend 
together, then, whichever shall conquer shall be held to 
have conquered for the whole army." 

The herald after pronouncing these words, waited 
awhile, and then, as no one replied to him, he returned 
and made his report to Mardonius, who in great glee, 
and elated with his cold victory, sent the cavalry against 
the Greeks. These coming up, troubled the whole line 
of the Greeks, by throwing their javelins, and discharging 
their arrows ; for they were cavalry trained to this method 
of fighting ; nor was it practicable to bring them to close 

(49) 



REMOVAL OF THE GRECIAN CAMP. 679 

quarters. They also approached the Gargaphian spring-, 
whence alone the Greeks derived their water ; and this 
they disturbed and embanked. The Lacedaemonians only 
were stationed near the spring, and the other Greeks, 
according to the arrangement of the several states, were 
distant from it, though all near the Asopus ; but being 
repulsed from the river, they had hitherto had recourse 
to the spring ; for it was impracticable to them to fetch 
water from the river on account of the discharges of 
arrows from the cavalry. 

Under these circumstances, and as the army was suffer- 
ing the want of water, and the whole line was incommoded 
by the cavalry, the Greek generals held a conference at 
the station of Pausanias on the right wing, concerning 
these and other matters. For however much annoyed in 
the way we have described, they were still more troubled 
on other accounts. Their provisions were exhausted, and 
their servants, whom they had despatched to Peloponnesus 
to collect stores, were shut out from returning to the camp 
by the enemy's cavalry. On consultation held among the 
generals, it was resolved that if the Persians did not pass 
the river and give battle that day, they would remove to 
the island. This island lies before Plataea, and is distant 
ten furlongs from the Gargaphian spring, and from {that 
part of) the Asopus where the army was then encamped : 
it may be called an island in the midland, for the river 
dividing into two streams when it descends from Cithaeron 
upon the plain, leaves a space between them of about 
three furlongs, and then again unites : the branch is 
called Oeroe, and by the country people — the daughter 
of the Asopus. To this spot they resolved to remove the 
camp, both because they would there have an abundant 
supply of water, and because they would not be harassed 
by the cavalry, as when directly opposed to them. They 
fixed upon the second watch of the ensuing night for 
making this remove, lest the Persians seeing them, should 
(51) 2x4 



G80 MOVEMENTS OF THE GREEKS. 

sally forth— follow and annoy them with their cavalry. 
They moreover resolved, that when arrived on this spot, 
encompassed by the Oeroe and the Asopus, dividing as it 
flows from Cithaeron, they would, during the same night, 
send a half of the army to the mountain passes, to bring 
away the attendants who were coming with provisions, 
and who were shut up upon Mount Cithaeron. 



SECTION IV. 

OBSTINACY OF AMOMPHARETUS. BATTLE AT PLATjEA, 
DESTRUCTION OF THE PERSIANS. 

During the whole day, after these resolutions had been 
formed, they were kept under arms, with great difficulty 
sustaining the assaults of the cavalry. But as the day 
declined, the enemy ceased to assail them, and when the 
hour of the night arrived that had been agreed upon for 
taking their departure, they took up their baggage, and 
moved off ; yet the greater part of them had no intention 
of proceeding to the place appointed ; but being put in 
movement, they gladly retired out of the reach of the 
cavalry towards Plataea, and in their flight came to a 
temple of Juno which stands in front of that city, and 
distant twenty furlongs from the Gargaphian spring ; and 
here they pitched their camp. These then stationed them- 
selves around this temple. Meanwhile Pausanias, who 
witnessed their departure from the encampment, gave 
orders to the Lacedaemonians to take their arms, and to 
follow in the track of those who had preceded them; 
for he supposed them to have gone to the place agreed 
upon. Immediately all the commanders held themselves 

(53) 



CONDUCT OF AMOMPHARETUS. 681 

ready to .obey the order of Pausanias ; — all except Amom- 
pharetus, son of Poliades, captain- of the cohort of Pita- 
nians, who declared that " he would not flee from the 
foreigners, nor willingly bring disgrace upon Sparta." 
For not having been present at the late council, he was 
amazed at what he saw taking place. Pausanias and 
Euryanax, though greatly troubled at his disobedience to 
their commands, would have been still more troubled to 
abandon the Pitanian cohort on account of the resolution 
taken by its captain, lest, if so left behind by them, while 
accomplishing the movement agreed upon with the other 
Greeks, Amompharetus and all with him should perish. 
Influenced by these motives, they retained the Lacedae- 
monian forces in their position, and endeavoured to con- 
vince him of his error. 

While arguing with Amompharetus, who alone of all 
the Lacedaemonians and Tegeans held back, the Athe- 
nians kept themselves unmoved on the ground where they 
had been stationed, well knowing the devices of the La- 
cedaemonians, and that it was their manner to say one 
thing and intend another. And when the army was 
actually in movement, they sent one of their horsemen to 
observe whether the Spartans were beginning to march, 
or whether in fact they were not intending to take them- 
selves off altogether. The horseman was (as a pretext) 
to ask orders from Pausanias. When he came up to the 
Lacedaemonians, he beheld them yet at their station, and 
the chiefs in contention one with another. For then 
Euryanax and Pausanias were exhorting Amompharetus 
not to put his men in peril by remaining at his post 
alone: but they by no means prevailed with him: and 
their contention had become vehement when the Athenian 
herald arrived on the spot. Amompharetus in debating, 
took up a fragment of rock in both hands, and placing 
it at the feet of Pausanias, said, " With this pebble 
I give my vote not to retreat from the foreigners;" — 
(55) 



682 CONDUCT OF AMOMPHARETUS. 

meaning the Barbarians. But Pausanias, after calling 
him a madman and insane, told the Athenian herald who 
asked for his commands, to report to the Athenians the 
present circumstances, and to say that he requested them 
to come, and to do in the matter of the retreat the same 
as the Lacedaemonians. 

The herald returned to the Athenians ; and the dawn 
found the Spartans still disputing in the same place where 
Pausanias had remained. At length, being of opinion 
that Amompharetus would not be left behind if the other 
Lacedaemonians actually withdrew — and so it happened 
— gave the signal for retiring, and led all the others away 
over the hills. The Tegeans followed them. But the 
Athenians marched in order of battle by a different route. 
For while the Lacedaemonians, from fear of the cavalry, 
held by the rising grounds, and along the base of Mount 
Cithaeron, the Athenians took their course below through 
the plain. 

Amompharetus, in the firm persuasion that Pausanias 
would not dare to abandon him and his men, had perti- 
naciously endeavoured, by himself remaining, to prevent 
the army leaving its station. But as the troops with 
Pausanias proceeded onwards, he, concluding that they 
were in very deed leaving him, made his cohort take 
up their arms, and led them at a slow march towards the 
main body. They, when they had advanced about ten 
furlongs, halted for the cohort of Amompharetus, on the 
banks of the Moloeis, and at a place called Argiopium, 
where stands a temple of the Eleusinian Ceres. He 
waited here with the intention of returning to succour 
Amompharetus and his band, in case he actually remained 
with his men on the ground where he had been sta- 
tioned. Scarcely had the cohort come up, when the 
entire cavalry of the Barbarians pressed upon them, and 
attacked them in the same manner as on every former 
occasion. The cavalry having found the place vacated 

(57) 



PURSUIT OF THE GREEKS. 683 

on which the Greek army had been encamped the pre- 
ceding days, had pushed on further and further, until 
they overtook and attacked them. 

When Mardonius learnt that the Greeks had withdrawn 
during the night, and when he beheld the deserted 
ground, he called to him Thorax of Larissa, and his 
brothers, Eurypylus and Thrasydeius, and said : — " You 
sons of Aleuas, what now say you in seeing this deserted 
ground ! You, neighbours of the Lacedaemonians, who 
affirm that they never retreat from the combat, but are 
in martial conduct the very first of men ! And yet you 
have lately seen them changing their station ; and now 
we see that in the past night they have one and all fled. 
When the occasion required them to decide the fortune of 
war with men who are truly more brave than others, they 
have made it manifest that — worthless themselves, they 
are distinguished only among Greeks — worthless also. 
Unacquainted as you are with the Persians, and knowing 
something commendable of the Lacedaemonians, I have 
readily pardoned your praising them. But I have so 
much the more wondered that Artabazus should fear the 
Lacedaemonians, and that, smitten with such fears, he 
should have advanced an opinion so timid, as if it were 
necessary to break up our encampment, and to go to 
Thebes, there to be besieged — which opinion the king 
shall hear of from me ; but of this anon. For the pre- 
seDt, the Greeks are not to be suffered to escape, but are 
to be followed till we overtake and requite them for all 
the injuries they have done the Persians." 

Having so spoken, Mardonius led the Persians forward, 
and crossing the Asopus, followed the track of the Greeks, 
as if they had been put to flight. It was the Lacedae- 
monians and Tegeans only that he followed, for the Athe- 
nians who had taken their course through the plain below 
the hills, he did not discern. The leaders of the rest of 
the Barbarian army seeing the Persians moving on, and 
(59) 



684 ATTACK UPON THE GREEKS. 

pursuing the Greeks, immediately all took up their 
standards, and followed also — every one as he could, 
without any order or keeping of ranks ; but moved on in 
a crowd with loud cries, as if about to make the Greeks 
their prey. When the Persian cavalry came up to the 
Greeks, Pausanias sent a horseman to the Athenians with 
this message : — " Athenians, now when the great contest 
is to be decided, which must issue in the emancipation or 
slavery of Greece, we Lacedaemonians, and you Athe- 
nians, have been betrayed by our allies, who in the past 
night have made their escape. But our resolution is 
taken — we will bravely defend ourselves to the utmost of 
our power, and support each other. If now the cavalry 
had first attacked you, it would have been our part with 
the Tegeans, who are not traitors to Greece, to aid you ; 
but actually it has advanced in full force against us, and 
it is just that you should come to the defence of that 
portion of the army which is especially pressed upon. 
Yet if you are so circumstanced, that you cannot come 
to our aid, at least oblige us by sending us a body of 
archers. Knowing as we do your great zeal in prose- 
cuting this war, and which we acknowledge, we confide 
that you will yield to this request." 

The Athenians on hearing this, marched to aid the 
Lacedaemonians with the purpose of doing so to the 
utmost of their power ; but while on their way,,they were 
attacked by the Greeks in the king's service, who were 
stationed opposite to them. This prevented their afford- 
ing any further aid to their allies, for they were themselves 
harassed by the attack. The Lacedaemonians and Te- 
geans, with their light armed troops, were therefore left 
alone, the former amounting to fifty thousand, and the. 
Tegeans, who ever kept close to them, to three thousand. 
They performed sacrifices at this time, as about to con- 
flict with Mardonius and his army— now at hand ; but the 
auspices were not good j meanwhile many of the Greeks 

(61) 



BATTLE OF PLAT^EA. 685 

fell slain, and many more were wounded. For the Per- 
sians, forming as it were a fence with their osier bucklers, 
discharged their arrows so copiously, that the Spartans 
were oppressed by them : yet the sacrifices were unfavour- 
able. At this moment Pausanias, looking up towards the 
temple of Juno near Plataea, invoked the goddess, and 
prayed her not to let them be disappointed in their 
hope. 

While yet he was uttering this invocation, the Tegeans 
first standing up, advanced towards the Barbarians, and 
the Lacedaemonians immediately after the prayer of 
Pausanias, sacrificed and obtained auspicious omens, and 
forthwith themselves also moved forwards to attack the 
Persians, who leaving their bows, stood to sustain the 
assault. The first combat took place about the fence of 
bucklers.* When that was overthrown, again a fierce 
contest was maintained, and for a long time, near the 
temple of Ceres, until the moment when the combatants 
came to push close one upon another ; for the Bar- 
barians had seized the spears of their assailants and 
broken them, and on this occasion the Persians were not 
inferior to the Greeks in daring, and in personal vigour ; 
but they were unprotected by defensive armour, and 
moreover in practised discipline and intelligence, were 
altogether unequal to their antagonists ; and thus it was 
that, rushing forward singly or in tens — sometimes more 
sometimes fewer, they fell upon the Spartans, and perished. 
At the point where Mardonius himself, riding a white 
horse, fought at the head of a chosen band of a thousand 
of the bravest Persians, there especially the Greeks were 
hardly pressed : and so long as he survived, the Persians 
stood their ground, and defended their position, over- 
throwing many of the Lacedaemonians. But when Mar- 

* It seems the Persians had planted their wicker shields on the 
ground, so as to form a fence, from behind which they discharged their 
arrows. 

(63) 



G86 RETREAT OF THE PERSIANS. 

donius was slain, and the body of Persians around him, 
who were the best troops in the army, had fallen, then the 
others turned, and gave way before the Lacedaemonians. 
In fact, having to fight with men completely armed, they 
suffered great disadvantage from their loose dress, desti- 
tute as it was of defences. 

And now the Lacedaemonians, according to the pre- 
diction of the oracle, obtained from Mardonius satisfac- 
tion for the death of Leonidas ; and Pausanias, son of 
Cleombrotus, son of Anaxandrides, won the most 
signal victory of which we have any knowledge. — We 
have recounted the ancestors of Pausanias when enu- 
merating those of Leonidas; — for they are the same. 
Mardonius was slain by Aimnestus, a Spartan of dis- 
tinction, who some time after the Median war, having 
under his command three hundred men, fought at Steny- 
clerus, with all the Messenians, and perished with his 
three hundred. 

, When the Persians at Plataea were first put to flight 
by the Lacedaemonians, they retreated, in utter disorder, 
towards their camp, and to the wooden fortification they 
had constructed in the Theban territory. — It is to me a 
matter of wonder that, though the battle took place near 
the sacred grove of Ceres, not one of the Persians appears 
to have entered the sacred enclosure, or to have died 
there, but fell, for the most part, about the temple, and 
on unconsecrated ground, and I am of opinion — if indeed 
it be proper to form any opinion on matters relating to 
the gods, that the goddess would not admit them because 
they burned her own peculiar residence at Eleusis. Such 
was the issue of this battle. 

Artabazus, son of Pharnaces, from the first had dis- 
approved of Mardonius being left in Greece by the king, 
and had, at that time, though to no avail, opposed his 
giving battle. Unable either to prevail with Mardonius, 
or to assent to his measures, and having under his com- 

(66) 



CONDUCT OF ARTABAZUS. G87 

mand no inconsiderable force — for it amounted to forty 
thousand men — as soon as the action commenced, he — 
well assured of what must be its issue, advanced to them, 
and commanded them to follow him in a compact body 
wherever he might lead them, when they saw him move 
at quick pace. After giving this order, he led them on 
as if into the fight. But being in advance of his troops, 
and seeing the Persians retreating, he no longer held the 
same course, but wheeled about to retire without delay ; — 
not indeed towards the fortified camp, nor towards the 
walls of Thebes, but to Phocis, with the intention of 
reaching the Hellespont as quickly as possible : thus this 
body of troops turned off. 

The Greeks in general who were in the king's service 
behaved remissly from design ; but the Boeotians main- 
tained a long contest with the Athenians. And those of 
the Thebans who took part with the Medes displayed no 
little zeal, but fought with heart until three hundred of 
the chiefs and of their bravest men fell by the hands of 
the Athenians. And when the battle turned, they fled 
to Thebes, yet not with the mob of Persians, nor with the 
other confederates, who, many of them, ran before they 
had struck a blow, or had given any display of valour. 
To me it is manifest that on the side of the Barbarians all 
depended on the Persians ; and if the other parts of the 
army fled before they had met the enemy at all, it was 
because they saw the Persians retreating. And thus 
all fled except the cavalry ; the Boeotian cavalry espe- 
cially afforded important aid to the retreating host, by 
keeping constantly close upon the enemy, and so sepa- 
rating the pursuers from the pursued. Yet the victorious 
Greeks followed the army of Xerxes — still pursuing, and 
putting them to the sword. Meanwhile news came to the 
other Greeks, stationed about the temple of Juno, and 
who were absent from the battle, that a battle had taken 
place, and that the troops under Pausanias were vic- 
(69) 



688 CAPTURE OF THE FORTIFIED CAMP. 

torious. Whereupon, without keeping any order, they 
hastened— the Corinthians along the foot of the mountain, 
and over the low hills, directly towards the temple of 
Ceres; while the Megareans and Phliasians took their 
course through the plain ; that being the most even road ; 
but when these came up near the combatants, the Theban 
cavalry, commanded by Asopodorus, son of Timander, 
seeing them hastening on in confusion, charged upon 
them at speed, and overthrew six hundred of them, and 
continued the pursuit of the remainder till they had 
driven them upon Mount Cithseron. Thus ingloriously 
did these perish. 

The Persians and the rest of the confused host, when 
they had reached their asylum in the wooden fortification, 
ascended the towers in haste, before the Lacedaemonians 
should arrive, and then set themselves to fence the walls 
in the best manner they could. The Lacedaemonians 
coming up, a vigorous assault and defence took place, 
in which, before the Athenians arrived, the besieged had 
much the advantage over their assailants, who were un- 
skilled in the attack of fortifications. But when the Athe- 
nians reached the place, a still more violent conflict en- 
sued, which lasted a long time. At length, by valour and 
assiduity, the Athenians surmounted the wall, and demo- 
lished a part of it ; and through the breach the Greeks 
poured in; the Tegeans were the first to enter, and it 
was they who pillaged the tent of Mardonius :— among 
other things, they took thence a crib (cparvrf) for the 
horses, all of brass, and of admirable workmanship. This 
same crib of Mardonius the Tegeans dedicated at the 
fane of the Alean Minerva. The rest of the spoil taken 
by them they carried to the common stock of the other 
Greeks. Their defence having fallen, the Barbarians 
did not again rally in masses, nor did one of them recol- 
lect his prowess ; but astounded and trembling with 
fear at finding so many thousands of men shut up within 

(70) 



VALOUR OF ARISTODEMUS. 68i) 

a narrow space, they offered an easy slaughter to the 
Greeks; so that of the three hundred thousand men — 
after excepting the forty thousand that fled with Artabazus, 
there were not more than three thousand that survived. 
Among the Lacedaemonians the Spartans had in all, 
during the attack,* ninety-one slain, the Tegeans lost 
eighteen, and the Athenians fifty-two. 

Among the Barbarians — of the infantry, the Persians 
behaved with the most valour; — of the cavalry — the 
Saces, and of individuals, Mardonius. On the side of 
the Greeks, though the Tegeans and the Athenians con- 
ducted themselves well, the Lacedaemonians surpassed 
both in valour; of which I can indeed bring no other 
proof than this — that while all vanquished those of the 
enemy opposite to whom they were stationed, these 
fought with and overcame the most powerful troops of 
the whole army. According to our opinion Aristodemus 
by far surpassed any other individual in bravery ; it was 
the same who alone of the three hundred had survived 
the action at Thermopylae, and on that account had 
drawn upon himself reproach and contempt. Next to 
him in valour were Posidonius, and Philocyon, and Amom- 
pharetus, the Spartan. And yet, when the question was 
diseussed, which of these had shown himself the most 
valiant, the Spartans present on the occasion came to 
the conclusion, that, though Aristodemus — wishing to die 
in the sight of all, on account of the charge brought 
against him, had madly advanced from the line, and 
performed great exploits — Posidonius, having no such 
intention of dying, had behaved valiantly, and by so much 
was the better of the two. But perhaps envy had in- 
fluence in this decision. Those whom I have mentioned 

* ev rr) av/ifiokr) — I suppose Herodotus to refer to the attack upon 
the fortified camp only, not to the whole day's fighting, for his own ac- 
count seems to imply a much greater loss, even among the Spartans 
only. 

(71) 2 y 



G90 DEATH OF CALLICRATES. 

who fell in this battle, were held in honour, except 
Aristodemus, who because he died purposely, for the cause 
before related, was unhonoured. 

These then are the persons who acquired most renown 
in the battle of Plataea. Callicrates died out of the 
fight ; he was the most handsome man in the army, not 
only among the Lacedaemonians, but among all the Greeks. 
While Pausanias performed the sacrifices, he was 
wounded in the side by an arrow, as he sat in his place 
in the ranks, and during the combat was carried away : 
addressing himself to Arimnestus, a Platsean, he said " he 
died reluctantly, not that he regretted to die for Greece ; 
but because he had not struck a blow, or achieved any 
action worthy of himself, though ardently desiring to 
do so." 

Of the Athenians, Sophanes, son of Eutyc hides, of 
the township of Decelea, was much commended. 

[The people of Decelea, as the Athenians affirm, once per- 
formed an action from which they have derived advantage 
ever since. For when, in a remote age, the Tyndarides 
( Castor and Pollux) invaded Attica with a numerous army 
for the recovery of Helen, not knowing whither she had been 
withdrawn, and when they had expelled the people from 
their habitations, then, say they, the Deceleans, or, as some 
affirm, Decelus himself, indignant at the violence committed 
by Theseus, and fearing for the whole Athenian territory, 
made known to them the whole affair, and guided them to 
Aphidna, which Titacus, a native of the place, delivered up 
to the Tyndarides. On account of this action the people of 
Decelea (who may have settled) at Sparta have, from that 
time to this, enjoyed an exemption from all tribute, and also 
a precedency in assemblies. And thus also, in the war which 
many years after the time of which we are speaking took 
place, between the Athenians and the Peloponnesians, when 
the Lacedaemonians ravaged all the rest of Attica, they 
abstained from Decelea. 

(73) 



EXPLOITS OF SOPHANES. 691 

Two accounts are given of the way in which this Sophanes 
of Decelea obtained so much celebrity among the Athenians ; 
the one is that he carried an iron hook (anchor) suspended by 
a chain of brass from the girdle of his corselet, which as often 
as he approached the enemy he threw out, so that when they 
sallied from their line, they might not be able to move him 
from his ground ; and when they fled, he took it up again, 
and joined in the pursuit. This is one account: the other, 
widely different from this, is that without any actual anchor of 
iron suspended from his corselet, he bore the figure of an 
anchor on his shield, which ever and without rest he turned 
about. Another signal exploit of Sophanes is related— that 
when the Athenians invested JEgina, he challenged and slew 
Eurybates of Argos, who had been victor in the five exercises. 
But some time afterwards, this Sophanes himself was slain by 
the Edonians at Datus, while valiantly fighting, when with 
Leager, son of Glaucon, he commanded the Athenians in 
their war concerning the gold mines.] 



SECTION V. 

i 

INCIDENTS CONNECTED WITH THE BATTLE. SIEGE 
OF THEBES. RETREAT OF ARTABAZUS. 

After the Barbarians had been overthrown by the 
Greeks at Platasa, there arrived a woman who had left 
the camp of the enemy. She was the mistress of Pha- 
randates, son of Teaspes, a Persian, and when she learned 
that the Persians had perished, and that the Greeks were 
victorious, she came — herself and her female attendants, 
gorgeously decked with gold, and wearing the most 
sumptuous attire. Descending from her chariot, she 
approached the Lacedaemonians, who were still employed 
(76) 2 y 2 



G92 THE DAUGHTER OF HEGETORIDES. 

in the slaughter of their foes. She recognized Pausanias, 
by seeing him in supreme command ; and she had already 
become acquainted with his name and ancestry, which 
she had often heard spoken of. By this means, knowing 
Pausanias, she embraced his knees, and spoke as follows : 
— " King of Sparta ! deliver me, your suppliant, from 
servitude and captivity ;* so far you have already helped 
me in destroying these (Persians) who have no respect 
for either the daemons or the gods. I am of Coos, and 
the daughter of Hegetorides, son of Antagoras. By 
force the Persian took me thence, and by force retained 
me." Pausanias thus replied : — " Woman, be of good 
heart, not merely because a suppliant ; but more than 
that, if what you say is true, and if you are indeed the 
daughter of Hegetorides of Coos ; for he, more than any 
other person of those parts, is my friend." Having thus 
spoken, he for the time committed her to the care of the 
Ephors, who were then present, and afterwards, at her 
own wish, sent her to iEgina. 

Presently after this occurrence, and when the labour 
of the day was accomplished, the Mantineans arrived, and 
being informed that they came too late to take part in 
the battle, were in great sorrow, and professed themselves 
deserving of punishment ; gfnd hearing of the escape of 
the Medes under Artabazus, they offered to pursue them 
as far as Thessaly ; but the Lacedaemonians would not 
give consent that the fugitives should be pursued. When 
they returned home, the generals were driven from their 
territory by the Mantineans. After these came the Elians, 
who also, like the Mantineans, were greatly afflicted, and 
like them departed, and on their return banished their 
generals. So much for the Mantineans and Elians. 

At Plataea, and among the forces of iEgina, was an 

ai^/j.a\(t)TOv SovXoavvrjQ — slavery in consequence of being made 
prisoner in war. This was often the fate of persons of high rank. 

(78) 



FLATTERY OF LAMPON. 693 

eminent citizen of that island, named Lampon, son of 
Pytheas. This man, coming up to Pausanias in great 
diligence, proposed to him a most iniquitous advice. He 
thus spoke : — " Son of Cleombrotus — an achievement 
has been accomplished by you that is altogether extra- 
ordinary, vast, and splendid. God has granted to you 
to be the deliverer of Greece, and so to obtain a renown 
surpassing that of any Greek whose name is known. 
Accomplish then what remains to be done, and your fame 
shall be still greater, and henceforth the Barbarians — 
one and all, will take care never again, in the superfluity 
of their arrogance, to offend the Greeks. When Leo- 
nidas was slain at Thermopylge, Mardonius and Xerxes 
cut off his head, and affixed his body to a cross. Now 
in rendering to him the like, you will be commended, 
first by the Spartans, and then by the other Greeks ; for 
by empaling Mardonius, you will avenge your uncle 
Leonidas." Thus he spoke, thinking to curry favour 
with Pausanias ; but the Spartan king replied : — " My 
friend of iEgina ! I admire your good intentions, and 
your foresight ; but in the advice you offer you sin against 
propriety, for after having extolled me so highly — me, 
my country, and my achievements, you have cast me 
down to nothing, in advising me to violate the dead ; 
and were I to do so, you say, my fame would be en- 
hanced. But an act, such as you recommend, is more 
fitting in Barbarians than in Greeks, and on account of 
such deeds we hold them in abhorrence. Nor would I 
wish thus to win the favour of the iEginetans, or of any 
others who might take pleasure in an act of this kind. To 
me it is enough to approve myself to the Spartans, by 
virtuous deeds, and virtuous discourse. As for Leonidas, 
whom you exhort me to avenge, I affirm that he is amply 
avenged ; — these countless multitudes of dead afford 
satisfaction enough for Leonidas, and the others who fell 
at Thermopylae. And now for yourself, approach me no 
(79) 2 y 3 



694 COLLECTION OF THE BOOTY. 

more with language or advice like this, and be thankful 
that you go unhurt." With this reply he departed. 

Pausanias made proclamation that no one should 
touch the booty, and commanded the helots to collect 
together all the treasures. They, dispersing themselves 
through the camp, found pavilions decked with gold and 
silver, couches embossed with the same, golden goblets 
and cups, and other drinking vessels. They found also 
waggons loaded with sacks, containing firkins filled with 
gold and silver. From the bodies of the dead also, they 
tore away bracelets, and twisted necklaces, and scymetars 
of gold : — as to the apparel of divers colours, it was made 
no account of. Much of this wealth the helots stole, and 
sold to the ^Eginetans ; and much also they produced — that 
is, so much as they were unable to conceal. This was the 
beginning of the great opulence of the iEginetans, who 
purchased gold of the helots, no doubt, as if it had been 
copper. When the spoil had been brought together, it 
was tithed, and to the Delphic god was consecrated the 
golden tripod, supported by a three-headed brazen ser- 
pent, and which stands near the altar. To the Olympic 
god was dedicated a brazen statue of Jupiter, ten cubits 
in height. For the Isthmian god also a tithe was taken, 
from which was made a brazen statue of Neptune, of 
seven cubits ; these dedications being made from the 
tenths, they divided the remainder according to their 
several claims; this partition included the women in 
attendance on the Persians, and the gold and the silver, 
and other wealth, and the beasts of burden. What choice 
articles were presented to those who most signalized 
their valour at Plataea has not been reported ; yet I sup- 
pose some such presents were actually made. To Pausa- 
nias was granted a tenth, selected from the whole booty — 
women, horses, talents, camels, and all other articles. 

The following incident has also been reported : — it is 
said that when Xerxes fled from Greece, he left to 

(82) 



DEVICE OF PAUSANIAS. 695 

Mardonius his own pavilion. Now Pausanias, on seeing 
the furniture and service of Mardonius, with its gold and 
silver, and the many-coloured hangings, commanded the 
confectioners and cooks to prepare a supper as if it were 
for Mardonius. They fulfilled these commands, and 
then Pausanias, seeing the couches embossed with gold 
and silver, and all laid in order, and the tables of gold 
and silver, and the magnificent preparations for the sup- 
per, was struck with wonder at the wealth before him, 
and in derision he ordered his own servants to make ready 
a supper in the Laconic fashion ; and as the difference 
between the two suppers was extremely great, Pausanias, 
in mirth, sent for the Greek generals, and when they 
came together he said, pointing first to the one, then to 
the other preparation — " Greeks, the reason of my call- 
ing you together is, that I wished to display before you 
the folly of this chief of the Medes, who, master of such 
dainties as these, came to us to take away our miserable 
fare." Such, it is affirmed, was the speech addressed by 
Pausanias to the Greek generals. 

Some long time after the battle of Plataea, there were 
found many coffers of gold and silver, and other precious 
articles ; and moreover, after the bodies of the slain were 
bared of flesh, the Plataeans brought together on one 
spot all the bones : among the skulls was found one with- 
out any sutures, and consisting of a single bone. An 
upper and under jaw was also found, the teeth of which 
grew in one, being all of a single bone — as well the front 
teeth as the grinders ; and there was the skeleton of a 
man five cubits high. 

The day after the battle, the body of Mardonius dis- 
appeared ; but by whom removed I cannot with any cer- 
tainty relate. I have indeed heard many persons men- 
tioned of various nations, who were said to have buried 
Mardonius ; and I know that many, on pretext of having 
performed this service, received large gratuities from 
(84) 2 y 4 



696 BURIAL OF THE SLAIN. 

Artontes, son of Mardonius ; yet have I never been able 
to learn with certainty who it was that withdrew and 
buried it. The common report is that the corpse was 
interred by Dionysophanes, an Ephesian. 

When the Greeks at Plataea had divided the booty, 
they buried their dead — each nation separately. The 
Lacedaemonians formed three repositories for their dead ; 
in the first they placed the youths {who had held command) 
of whom were Posidonius, and Amompharetus, and 
Philocyon, and Callicrates ; — these youths were buried in a 
grave apart. In the second were laid the other Spartans ; 
and in the third the helots. The Tegeans in a grave to 
themselves buried all their dead together; as did the 
Athenians theirs. The Megareans and Phliasians buried 
those that had been destroyed by the cavalry : the sepul- 
chral mounds of these were really filled with dead ; but 
as for the other mounds that are seen at Plataea — these, 
as I am informed, are empty, and were piled up by those 
who, ashamed of having been absent from the battle, 
endeavoured by this means to impose on posterity. There 
is, for instance, on the field, a tumulus which is called 
that of the iEginetans ; but which I am told was raised 
ten years after the battle, at the request of the iEgine- 
tans, by Cleades, son of Autodicus, a Plataean, who was 
on terms of friendship with them. 

Having buried their dead at Plataea, the Greeks pre- 
sently held a council in which it was determined to 
advance against Thebes, and to demand the persons who 
had espoused the interests of the Medes. The principal 
of these were Timagenides and Attaginus, who were the 
heads of that faction ; and in case of their refusal to 
deliver them up, they resolved not to depart till they had 
taken the city. This resolution formed — on the eleventh 
day after the battle, they arrived, and laid siege to Thebes, 
and summoned the citizens to deliver up the persons 
named. They being unwilling to do so, the Greeks 

) 



SIEGE OF THEBES. 697 

cleared their lands of trees, and invested the walls. 
Nor did they oease their depredations during twenty 
days, when Timagenides thus addressed the citizens — 
" Thehans, since the Greeks have so resolved that they 
will not raise the siege until they have either taken the 
city or we have been given up to them — now therefore 
let not the Boeotian territory suffer further injury on 
our account ; but if they demand us merely as a pretext 
for obtaining money, let us give them money from the 
public fund ; for it is not we as individuals, but all the 
citizens who have taken part with the Medes. Yet if 
truly they besiege Thebes to obtain us, we hold ourselves 
ready to plead our own cause before them." This was 
thought to be well and seasonably spoken, and imme- 
diately the Thebans announced to Pausanias that they 
were willing to surrender the men. 

Just as terms to this effect were agreed upon, Atta- 
ginus made his escape from the city: — his sons being 
brought to Pausanias were dismissed, for, said he, the 
children were not implicated in the crime of favouring 
the Medes. The other persons delivered up by the 
Thebans, imagined they should either make an available 
defence, or obtain their lives by giving money. But 
Pausanias suspecting that this might happen, no sooner 
got them in his power than he dismissed all the con- 
federates, and then leading the prisoners to Corinth, put 
them to death. So much for what took place at Platasa 
and Thebes. 

Meanwhile Artabazus, son of Pharnaces, continued to 
urge his retreat, and had advanced a considerable dis- 
tance. Arriving in Thessaly, the people of that country 
received him hospitably, and being utterly ignorant of 
what had happened at Plataea, they inquired of him con- 
cerning the rest of the army. But Artabazus knew that 
if he were to relate truly and fully the issue of the con- 
test, he should incur for himself and those with him the 
(89) 



479. 



698 RETREAT OF ARTABAZUS. 

danger of destruction ; for there were none of these 
nations that would not have attacked him, had they been 
informed of what had happened. Calculating upon this 
probability, he had not, even to the people of Phocis, 
communicated any news, and to the Thessalians he thus 
spoke — " Thessalians, I, as you see, am urging my march 
with all possible speed towards Thrace, and use dili- 
gence, having been sent from the army with these troops 
on an important business. And you have to expect 
Mardonius himself and his army who is following close 
upon my steps. Him receive hospitably, and make 
evident your good intentions ; for in so doing you will 
never have reason to repent." So saying he led his army 
with the utmost haste through Thessaly and Macedonia, 
directly to Thrace. On reaching Thrace, he took the 
shortest road across the country towards Byzantium, 
where he arrived after losing many of his troops, who 
were cut in pieces by the Thracians on the road, or 
who died from famine and fatigue. From Byzantium 
he passed over in ships. Thus did he return home to 
Asia. 



SECTION VI. 

BATTLE AT MYCALE — DEFEAT OF THE PERSIANS. 

Septem- The same day in which the slaughter of the Persians 

ber 22. 

B. c. took place at Plataea, a like calamity happened to them 
at Mycale, in Ionia. For when the Grecian fleet under 
the command of Leotychides the Lacedaemonian were 
stationed at Delos, there came from Samos as messen- 
gers, Lampon, son of Thrasycles, and Athenagoras, son 

, (90) 



APPLICATION FROM THE SAMIANS. 699 

of Archestratides, and Hegesistratus, son of Aristagoras, 
who had been despatched by the Samians without the 
knowledge of the Persians, or of Theomestor, son of 
Androdamas, whom they had constituted tyrant of the 
island. These deputies arriving in the fleet, Hegesis- 
tratus addressed the generals at great length, and with 
various arguments to this effect — " that if once the 
Ionians should see them, they would revolt from the 
Persians, nor would the Barbarians make a stand, or if 
they did so, the Greeks could never find a greater booty." 
Then he invoked the gods whom they worshipped in com- 
mon, and implored them to rescue from slavery those who, 
like themselves, were Greeks, and to defend them from 
the Barbarian : and, said he, " nothing will be more easy 
than for you to do so ; — their ships are bad sailers, and by 
no means in condition to fight those of the Greeks. Or 
if the Greeks suspected any fraud in this invitation to 
come over, they {the deputies) were willing to go on 
board the Greek fleet, there to remain as hostages." 
After the Samian had used many entreaties, Leotychides 
asked him his name — either because he wished to obtain 
an omen, or merely by a divinely-ordered fortuity — 
" Samian friend," said he, " what is your name?" " He- 
gesistratus," replied the Samian ; on hearing this, Leoty- 
chides, cutting short what the other might have added, 
went on — " Samian friend ! I accept the omen — Hegesis- 
tratus {leader of an army) only see that ere you depart, 
you, and those with you, pledge yourselves that the 
Samians shall become our zealous allies." 

Thus having spoken, forthwith the business was put in 
progress. The Samians instantly gave their word, and 
ratified it by oath, for forming an alliance between the 
Samians and the Greeks, and then the two set sail, while 
Hegesistratus, whose name had served as an omen, sailed 
at the command of Leotychides with the Greeks. They 
remained at their station that day, and on the next sacri- 
(92) 



700 STORY OF EVENIUS. 

ficed with auspicious omens. Their diviner was Dei- 
phonus, son of Evenius — from Apollonia, on the Ionian 
gulph. 

[To this Evenius, the father, happened the following inci- 
dents. In Apollonia there are certain sheep, sacred to the 
sun, which by day feed on the banks of the river that flows 
from Mount Lacmon through the Apollonian territory, and 
empties itself into the sea near the port Oricus. At night 
they are taken charge of by some one of the most opulent 
and noble of the citizens, who is elected to guard them — 
each for a year. For the people of Apollonia, at the instiga- 
tion of an oracle, attach high importance to these sheep. 
They pass the night in a cavern, remote from the city. It 
came to the turn of this Evenius to be chosen to guard the 
sheep ; but he sleeping during the time of his watch, some 
wolves entered the cavern, and destroyed about sixty of the 
sheep. On observing what had happened, he kept silence, 
nor mentioned it to any one, intending to purchase other sheep, 
with which to replace those that were lost. But the matter 
was not concealed from the Apollonians, who on becoming 
acquainted with it, brought him before the tribunals, where, 
for having slept during the time of his watch, he was con- 
demned to be deprived of sight. But presently, after Eve- 
nius had lost his eyes, the cattle neither produced young, nor 
did the earth yield its increase. This had been predicted to 
them at Dodona and at Delphi. When they inquired of the 
prophets the cause of the present calamity, they were an- 
swered that " They had unjustly deprived Evenius, keeper 
of the sacred sheep, of his sight ; for themselves (the gods) 
had sent the wolves, nor would cease to avenge him until 
they had made him such reparation for the injuries the Apol- 
lonians had inflicted, as he himself should choose, and deem 
sufficient. Moreover after they had fulfilled their part, the 
gods would confer upon Evenius such a boon as should make 
most men bless him." The Apollonians upon receiving this 
response, divulged it not; but deputed certain of their citizens 

(94) 



ADVANCE OF THE GRECIAN FLEET. 70L 

to manage the affair, which they effected in the following 
manner : — finding Evenius sitting on a bench, they sat them- 
selves down with him, and began conversation on some other 
matters, and at length proceeded to commiserate his misfortune, 
and having by this means wheedled him, they inquired — 
" What reparation he would name, supposing the Apollonians 
were willing to make him amends for what they had done." 
He, having heard nothing of the response of the oracle, men- 
tioned, as his choice, that if they would grant him the lands 
of two citizens — whom he named, and whose possessions he 
knew to be the best in Apollonia; — and besides, a certain 
mansion which he knew to be the most superb in the city ; — 
then, if possessed of these, he would ever after be placated, 
and deem himself to have obtained reparation. Thus speak- 
ing, the persons who sat with him caught up his words, and 
said: — " Evenius, the Apollonians will make to you this re- 
paration for the loss of your eyes, in obedience to a response 
they have received." On hearing the whole truth, he was 
highly indignant at having been so deceived. But they, after 
purchasing the possessions of their owners, gave him what he 
had chosen. Presently afterwards Evenius became gifted 
with skill in divination, so as to acquire great celebrity.] 

Deiphonus, son of this Evenius, having been brought by 
the Corinthians, discharged the function of diviner to the 
fleet. Yet I have heard it said that this Deiphonus was 
not the son of Evenius ; but that having usurped the name, 
he traversed Greece, and let out his services. The 
auspices obtained by the ministration of this person 
being favourable, the Greeks removed their fleet from 
Delos towards Samos, and when they came off Calamus, 
in that island, they anchored near the temple of Juno, 
and made preparations for an engagement. The Per- 
sians, informed of their approach, moved towards the 
continent, and allowed the Phoenicians to depart; for 
after holding a consultation they determined not to fight 
the Greeks at sea, as they deemed themselves unequal 
(96) 



702 PREPARATIONS FOR BATTLE 

to the contest with such a foe ; and they drew to shore 
on the continent, that they might be under the protection 
of their army, which was at Mycale. This force being a 
part of the main army, had been left here by the order 
of Xerxes to guard Ionia : it mustered sixty thousand 
strong, and was under the command of Tigranes, a Per- 
sian, surpassing all his countrymen in height and beauty 
of person. It was under the protection of this army that 
the commanders of the fleet resolved to take refuge ; 
and to haul their ships ashore, and surround them with a 
fence, to serve as a fortified asylum, both for the ships 
and themselves. 

Having therefore resolved on their plan, they weighed, 
and passing a temple of the Eumenides, on the territory 
of Mycale came to {the mouths of the) Gaeson and Sco- 
loposis, where is a temple of the Eleusinian Ceres, reared 
by Philistus, son of Pasicles, who followed Neleus, son 
of Codrus, when he founded Miletus. There they drew 
up their ships on the beach, and surrounded them with a 
defence, formed of stones and timber, which they pro- 
cured by cutting down the fruit trees : in front of this 
wall they formed a palisado of stakes. In fact they 
made every preparation which, on deliberation, seemed 
proper for both kinds of warfare — either for sustaining a 
siege, or attacking the enemy. 

"When the Greeks were informed that the Barbarians 
had retired to the continent, they were chagrined, as 
they supposed them to have escaped their hands, and 
they were in doubt what course to take, whether to 
return the way they came, or to sail to the Hellespont. 
In the end, they resolved to do neither ; but to proceed 
to the continent. Accordingly they made preparations 
for an engagement, and taking with them planks for 
disembarking, and other necessary articles, sailed to 
Mycale. When they drew near to the fortification, 
instead of an enemy advancing to meet them, they saw 

(98) 



AT MYCALE. 703 

the ships drawn up within the wall, and a numerous army 
ranged on the beach. Then Leotychides moving for- 
wards from the line as near as possible to the shore, 
caused a herald to make proclamation, addressed to the 
Ionians, to this effect — rt Ionians ! as many of you as 
may now be within hearing, mark what I say; for the 
Persians will understand nothing of the injunction I 
address to you : — when we join battle, then let each of 
you think first of all of liberty ; and next of the watch 
word — Hebe. And let those who have not heard this 
proclamation, learn it from those that hear it." This he 
did with an intention similar to that of Themistocles at 
Artemisium (p. 591) for he thought that if the meaning 
of the address was not understood by the Barbarians, 
it might avail with the Ionians ; or if it came to their 
knowledge, it would render the Ionians suspected by 
them. 

Leotychides having made this suggestion, the Greeks 
immediately drawing their ships close to the shore, landed 
on the beach, and ranged themselves in order of battle. 
Then the Persians, seeing the Greeks prepared for battle, 
and knowing them to have given advice to the Ionians, 
in the first place disarmed the Samians, whom they sus- 
pected of wishing well to the Greeks : — for it had hap- 
pened that some Athenians who were left in Attica, and 
who had been made prisoners by the army of Xerxes, were 
brought as captives on board the Barbarian fleet ; all 
these the Samians had redeemed and sent to Athens, 
furnished with provisions for the voyage. There was 
therefore no small reason for suspecting those who had 
redeemed five hundred of the enemies of Xerxes. In 
the next place, the Persians appointed the Milesians to 
guard the roads leading to the heights of Mycale — appa- 
rently because they, better than others, were acquainted 
with the country ; but in fact in order to remove them 
from the army. It was thus that the Persians endea- 
(99) 



704 RUMOUR AMONG THE GREEKS. 

voured to secure themselves against those of the Ionians 
who, in their opinion, might attempt some revolution, 
should they find the means of doing so. They then 
brought their bucklers together to form a wall of 
defence. 

The Greeks having formed themselves in order of 
battle, advanced towards the Barbarians, and while 
moving forwards, a rumour flew through the whole army, 
and the wand of a herald (Caduceus) was seen lying by 
the water's edge : — the report that came among the troops 
was that the Greeks had fought and conquered the army 
of Mardonius in Bceotia. Interpositions of the divine 
providence are manifested by many proofs. And thus 
the same day on which the Persians were defeated at 
Plataea, and just when they were about to be overthrown 
at Mycale, the rumour reached the Greeks, at the latter 
place, of what had happened at the other ; by which 
means this army was inspired with greater courage, and 
became willing to encounter every peril. And another 
coincidence may be mentioned, namely, that both battles 
were fought near a temple of the Eleusinian Ceres. For, 
as I have already said, the battle of Plataea took place 
about the temple of Ceres ; so also it was to be at Mycale. 
And most opportunely came this rumour of the victory 
obtained by the Greeks under Pausanias, for it was yet 
early in the day when the battle at Plataea took place ; 
but that at Mycale, not till evening. That the two bat- 
tles actually happened on the same day of the month, 
was ascertained not long afterwards by mutual inquiries. 
Before the arrival of the rumour, great fear prevailed 
among the Greeks, not so much for themselves, as for the 
Greeks (at Jiome), lest Greece should fall and be broken 
under Mardonius ; but when this auspicious rumour flew 
from rank to rank, they so much the more urged their 
advance against the enemy. Indeed both Greeks and 
Barbarians hastened to join battle, feeling that the 

(101) 



DEFEAT OF THE PERSIANS. 705 

islands and the Hellespont were proposed as the prize of 
the combat. 

The Athenians, who with those that had been ranged 
near them, formed nearly a half of the army, held their 
way along- the shore, and over an even ground, while 
the Lacedaemonians and the troops joined with them, 
proceeded by a ravine (channel of a winter stream), and 
over the hills, and while these were making a circuit, 
those of the other wing were already engaged with the 
enemy. So long as the fence of bucklers remained 
standing, the Persians defended themselves well, nor 
were at all inferior to the Greeks. But the Athenians 
and those with them wishing to achieve the victory by 
themselves, without the Lacedaemonians, cheered each 
other with shouts, and urged their efforts with redoubled 
zeal ; then the fortune of the day changed, and the hedge 
of bucklers being overthrown, the Greeks fell upon the 
Persians in a body ; — these sustained the shock, and a 
long time kept their ground ; but at length fled to the 
fortified inclosure. The Athenians, and Corinthians, and 
Sicyonians, and Trcezenians — for in this order they were 
marshalled, followed hard and rushed with them into the 
fortification; and when this was in the power of the 
enemy, the Barbarians no more made a stand, but all 
except the Persians, retreated precipitately. These, 
though reduced to a small number, continued to oppose 
the Greeks who were entering the defence. Of the Per- 
sian generals, two fled, and two were slain : — Artayntes 
and Ithamitres, who commanded the fleet, made their 
escape, while Mardontes, and Tigranes the general of the 
army, were killed fighting. 

The Persians were still maintaining the combat when 
the Lacedaemonians and those with them came up, and 
joined in the slaughter of such as survived. Nor was it 
a few of the Greeks that fell on this occasion ; — among 
others many of the Sicyonians, with their leader Perilaus. 
(103) 2 z 



706 TREASON OF THE IONIANS. 

Those Samians who had formed part of the Median army, 
and had been deprived of their arms, no sooner saw the 
advantage preponderating on the side of the Greeks, than 
they used their utmost exertions to lend them aid, and 
then the other Ionians, seeing the part the Samians were 
taking, themselves revolted from the Persians, and at- 
tacked the Barbarians. To the Milesians had been com- 
mitted the charge of guarding the passes, as a provision 
for the security of the Persians in case that — if what 
actually occurred should take place, they, having guides 
with them, might save themselves in the heights of My- 
cale. Such was the part assigned to the Milesians ; nor 
with this intention only, but also to prevent their being 
present in the army, where they might originate some 
mutiny. But in fact they acted in direct opposition to 
their orders ; for they led those who fled from the field 
by roads that brought them upon their enemies, and in 
the end joined in the slaughter with more animosity than 
even the Greeks. Thus the second time Ionia revolted 
from the Persians. 

In this battle the Athenians chiefly distinguished them- 
selves by their bravery ; and among the Athenians, Her- 
molycus, son of Euthynus, a man accomplished in the 
pancratium (exercise of wrestling and boxing). This 
Hermolycus, at a subsequent period, during the war 
between the Athenians and Carystians, died fighting at 
Cyrnus, in the Carystian territory, and was interred near 
Gerffistus. Next to the Athenians, the Corinthians, the 
Troezenians, and the Sicyonians behaved with the greatest 
valour. 

The Greeks having put to the sword, either in the 
battle or in the retreat, the greater part of the Barba- 
rians, set fire to the ships and to the fortification, and 
collecting the booty on the beach, they found among it 
some coffers of money. When both the fleet and the 
wall were consumed, they sailed away, and arriving at 

(106) 



CONSULTATION AMONG THE GREEKS. 707 

Samos, held a consultation relative to the removal of the 
Ionians, and inquired in what part of Greece which was 
under their control, they ought to be settled, so that 
Ionia might be abandoned to the Barbarians; for it 
appeared impracticable for them to keep the Ionians in 
possession of that country, or long to defend them in it. 
And unless they were so defended by the Greeks, the 
Ionians had little prospect of escaping punishment from 
the Persians. Under these circumstances, the chiefs 
of the Peloponnesians were of opinion, that those of the 
Greek community who had favoured the Medes should 
be expelled from their cities, and that their lands should 
be given to the Ionians. But the Athenians were by no 
means willing that any such removal of the Ionians 
should take place ; nor would they consent that the 
Peloponnesians should concert measures involving the 
interests of states deriving their origin from Athens. 
As this opposition was made by the Athenians, the 
Peloponnesians readily withdrew their proposition. And 
thus the Samians, the Chians, the Lesbians, and the 
other islanders, who happened to take part in this 
enterprize, were brought into alliance with the Greeks, 
and engaged their honour, sanctioned by oaths, to remain 
faithful to this treaty, nor ever to withdraw themselves 
from their allies. These engagements made, the Greeks 
sailed to the Hellespont, to break up the bridges, which 
they expected to find still entire. 

Meanwhile those of the Barbarians who had escaped — 
few in number, and had been driven to the heights of 
Mycale, made good their retreat to Sardis. On the way, 
Masistes, son of Darius, who was present at the late 
disaster, addressed many reproaches to Artayntes, the 
general, and among other taunts said that he had behaved 
in his command of the army worse than a woman, and 
was deserving of the heaviest punishment for having 
wrought so much mischief to the king's affairs. Among 
(107) 2 z 2 



708 MASISTES AND ARTAYNTES- 

the Persians, to say a man is more of a coward than a 
woman, is of all contumelies the greatest. Indignant 
at these reproaches, Artayntes drew his scymitar upon 
Masistes, and would have killed him ; but Xenagoras, son 
of Praxilaus, a Halicarnassian, perceiving the assault as 
he stood behind Artayntes, caught him round the waist, 
and lifting him up, threw him to the ground. At this 
moment the guards of Masistes came up. For this 
service Xenagoras gained the. thanks, both of Masistes 
and of Xerxes, whose own brother he had thus rescued, 
and in recompense he received from the king the govern- 
ment of all Cilicia. Nothing else remarkable occurred 
in their further progress towards Sardis, where the 
king had remained ever since his flight from Athens, after 
the destruction of his fleet. 



SECTION VII. 

DEATH OF MASISTES. SIEGE OF SESTUS. 

While Xerxes remained at Sardis, he formed an 
attachment to the wife of Masistes, who was there ; 
but being restrained by respect for his brother, he took 
another course, and brought about a marriage between 
his own son Darius, and the daughter of Masistes. 
After celebrating these nuptials with the usual forms, 
he set out on his return to Susa. When arrived there 
he brought the wife of his son Darius to his palace, 
and thenceforward ceased to care for the wife of Masistes, 
who now was supplanted by her own daughter Artaynte, 
wife of Darius. In process of time this affair became 
notorious in the following manner. Amestris, the wife 

(109) 



INTRIGUES OF XERXES. 709 

of Xerxes, had woven a mantle of large dimensions and 
admirable workmanship, with divers colours, and had 
given it to the king, who, much delighted with it, wore 
it when he visited Artaynte. In his fondness for her he 
commanded her to ask of him whatever she pleased, 
promising that what she asked she should obtain : — and. 
as calamities were destined to befal the family, she said— 
"And will you give me whatever I shall ask?" He 
thinking she would demand any thing rather than what 
she actually named, promised to do so, with an oath ; 
no sooner had he sworn, than she boldly asked for the 
mantle. Xerxes most unwilling to give it, used every 
means to avoid doing so ; for he dreaded nothing more 
than that by this means Amestris, who before had sus- 
pected his intrigue, should convict him of it. He offered 
her instead cities, and abundance of gold, and an army, 
to be under her sole command — for an army is a Persian 
gift in high esteem ; but she would not yield, and he 
gave her the mantle. Extremely delighted with the 
gift, she wore it, and prided herself upon possessing it. 
Amestris was informed that she had it ; but on learning 
what had taken place, she entertained a grudge, not 
against Artaynte, but against her mother, the wife of 
Masistes, whom she imagined to be the mover in the 
plot ; and therefore resolved on accomplishing her 
destruction. With this view she awaited the time 
when Xerxes her husband gave the royal banquet, 
which takes place once every year, on the king's birth- 
day. The name of this banquet in the Persian lan- 
guage is Tycta, which in Greek signifies — the Perfect. 
On that occasion only the king anoints his head, and con- 
fers gifts on the Persians. This day Amestris waited 
for, and then asked of Xerxes that the wife of Masistes 
might be given up to her. To do so he deeply felt 
to be a most atrocious act, not only because it was his 
brother's wife whom he was required to give up, but 
(110) 2 z 3 



710 MASISTES AND XERXES. 

because he knew her to be guiltless of the conduct 
imputed to her: for he understood on what account 
the request was made. 

But at length as she was assiduous in urging her 
request, and he felt himself bound by the law ; for 
the king has no power to refuse a request during the 
continuance of the royal banquet — he, though most 
reluctantly, gave the nod of assent. But in surrendering 
his brother's wife, while he told Amestris to do what 
she would, he sent for his brother, to whom he thus 
spoke: — " Masistes, you are the son of Darius, and 
my brother, and moreover a good man; yet live no 
longer with your present wife : instead of her I give 
you my own daughter; — with her live. But it is 
not my will that you should retain as your wife her 
whom you now have." Masistes utterly amazed at this, 
replied: — "My lord! what luckless words have you 
uttered? You command me to put away a wife by 
whom I have three sons — now youths, and daughters, 
one of whom you have given in marriage to your own 
son; — and a wife, moreover, who suits me well: — her 
you tell me to dismiss, and to marry your own 
daughter! I do indeed, O king, deem myself highly 
honoured that you think me worthy of your daughter ; 
but shall comply with neither of these commands. 
Force me not when you ask from me conduct like 
this. A man not inferior to me will present himself 
as the husband of your daughter: — suffer me then 
still to live with my wife." Xerxes enraged by these 
words, thus replied : — " Thus, then, Masistes, your 
concerns are arranged : neither shall my daughter be 
given you in marriage ; nor shall you live any longer 
with your wife. So may you learn to accept what 
is offered you." Masistes on hearing this went out, 
only saying, " My lord, yet you have not utterly de- 
stroyed me." 

(Ill) 



REVENGE OF AMESTRIS. 711 

Meanwhile, and during the interval in which Xerxes 
was conversing with his brother, Amestris had sent for 
the guards of Xerxes, that she might mutilate the wife of 
Masistes. Her breasts she cut off, and threw to the 
dogs, together with her nose, ears, and lips. She also 
cut out her tongue, and then sent her, thus miserably 
mangled, to her home. Masistes knew "Indeed nothing 
of all this ; but yet expecting some mischief, he ran 
with all haste to his house. — On seeing his wife thus 
mutilated, he instantly consulted with his sons, and 
proceeded with them and some other persons to Bactria, 
with the intention of raising a revolt in that province, 
and of doing the greatest mischief possible to the king ; 
and in this I think he would have succeeded, had he 
actually arrived among the Bactrians and Saces, for he 
was governor of the Bactrians, and greatly beloved by 
them. But Xerxes having gained intelligence of the 
plan he had in hand, sent an armed force after him, which 
put him and his sons and his troops to the sword, as they 
were on their way. So much for the intrigues of Xerxes 
and the death of Masistes. 

The Greeks leaving Mycale, advanced towards the 
Hellespont, and first came to anchor about Lectum — the 
winds arresting their progress. Thence they advanced to 
Abydos, and found the bridges, which they had ex- 
pected to see entire, completely broken up ; though to 
destroy them had been the principal motive of their 
coming to the Hellespont. The Peloponnesians, with 
Leotychides, then thought proper to return to Greece; 
but the Athenians under Xantippus resolved to remain 
there, and to make an attempt upon the Chersonese. 
The former therefore departed, while the latter passing 
over from Abydos to the Chersonese, laid siege to 
Sestus. Sestus being the strongest place in all that 
country, the people of the neighbouring towns had flocked 
into it when they heard that the Greeks had reached the 
(115) 2 z 4 



712 SIEGE OF SESTUS. 

Hellespont. From Cardia also came CEobazus, a Persian 
who had caused the supporters of the bridges to be laid 
up there. The city was held by the native iEolians, and 
there were in it also some Persians, and a numerous body 
of their allies. 

The province was governed for Xerxes by Artayctes, 
a Persian, and a man of a cruel and outrageous temper. 
When the king was on his march towards Athens, this 
man, by practising a fraud upon him, had carried off the 
{consecrated) treasures of Protesilaus, son of Iphicus, 
from Elaeus. For at Elaeus, of the Chersonese, there 
was the sepulchre of Protesilaus, in the midst of a sacred 
enclosure, and within it were great treasures, with gob- 
lets of gold and silver, and brazen vessels, and vest- 
ments, and other dedications, all which Artayctes by 
grant of the king plundered. He imposed upon Xerxes 
by thus addressing him: — "My lord, there is in these 
parts the house of a Greek who, having invaded your, 
territories, met his punishment and died. Give me then 
his house, and so shall all learn not to invade your 
territory." Xerxes having no suspicion of his real 
meaning, was easy to be persuaded to grant him the 
house. In affirming that Protesilaus had invaded the 
king's territory, his meaning was this — that the Per- 
sians deem the whole of Asia to be their own, (p. 3) 
and the property of the reigning king. Having ob- 
tained these treasures he transported them to Sestus, 
and the consecrated lands he converted into arable, and 
held as a farm, and as often as he visited Elaeus, he 
profaned the sanctuary by making it the scene of his 
profligate excesses. At this time he was besieged by 
the Athenians, and without having made preparations 
to sustain a siege ; for he had not expected the Greeks, 
and so they fell upon him off his guard. 

The siege continued till the autumn, and the Athe- 
nians fretting at being so long absent from their homes, 

(117) 



FATIi OF ARTAYCTES. 713 

and still unable to capture the city, entreated their 
generals to lead them back to Attica. But they refused 
to do so, until either they had taken the place, or 
were recalled by the assembly of the people ; for they 
were eager to achieve the enterprize. Already the 
besieged were reduced to the last degree of misery ; 
so much so that they stewed and eat the thongs of their 
couches ; when even these were all consumed, the Per- 
sians with Artayctes and CEobazus made their escape 
at night by descending the wall at the back of the 
town, where fewest of the enemy were stationed. At 
day break the Chersonetans made signals of what had 
happened to the Athenians, from the towers, and 
opened the gates. While some of the besieging army 
took possession of the city, the greater part pursued the 
fugitives. CEobazus having fled into Thrace, was seized 
by the Absinthian Thracians, who, according to their 
manner, sacrificed him to their indigenpus god, Pleis- 
torus: his attendant they slaughtered in another man- 
ner. Artayctes and his company setting out on their 
retreat later, were overtaken when they had proceeded 
only a short distance beyond iEgos Potamos. For 
some length of time they defended themselves, until 
all were either put to the sword or taken prisoners. 
The Greeks binding these, led them to Sestus, and with 
them Artayctes, and his son bound also. 

To one of those who guarded the prisoners there 
happened, as the Chersonetans affirm, a prodigy ; ; — 
as the man was cooking corned fish, the fish as they 
lay over the fire quivered and palpitated, as if just 
caught. Those who stood about were amazed ; but 
Artayctes beholding the prodigy, called the man who 
cooked the fish, and said — "Athenian friend, fear 
nothing on account of this prodigy : it regards not you : 
but to me — Protesilaus, deposited at Elaeus, signifies 
that though corned (embalmed) he has power with the 
(120) 



714 PROPOSITION OF THE PERSIANS, 

gods to hurt him who has injured him. Now there- 
fore T am willing to pay to him this forfeit-money. — 
As the price of the treasures which I took from the 
temple, I will lay down to the god one hundred talents, 
and for my own life and my son's I will give to the 
Athenians two hundred talents." To this offer Xan- 
tippus the Athenian general would not listen; for not 
only did the Elaeans entreat that he might be de- 
stroyed, to avenge Protesilaus, but the general himself 
was thus minded also. They therefore led him to the 
point where Xerxes had fixed the bridge over the 
passage; or, as some say, to the rising ground above 
Madytus, and there nailing him to a balk, hung him 
up: the son of Artayctes they stoned to death before 
his eyes. Having thus accomplished their enterprize, 
the Athenians returned to Greece, taking with them, 
besides other treasures, the supporters {cordages) 
of the bridges, with the intention of dedicating them 
in their temples. Nothing more was effected in this 
year. 

Artembares, the paternal grandfather of this Ar- 
tayctes — hanged by the Athenians, was the person 
who drew up an address for the Persians, which they 
adopting, presented to Cyrus : — its purport was as fol- 
lows. — " Since Jupiter has granted to the Persians the 
sovereign power, and among them to you, Cyrus ; — 
Astyages being deposed — Come, and as we possess a ter- 
ritory of small extent, and rugged, let us take for our- 
selves a better; for there are many better around 
us, and many at a greater distance. If we occupy one 
of these, we shall acquire greater respect in the eyes 
of most men ; for it is reasonable that those who rule 
others should adopt such a course. And when, better 
than now, can we do it, while we have under our com- 
mand so many nations, and rule the whole of Asia?" 
Cyrus on hearing this address, though he admired not 

(122) 



AND REPLY OF CYRUS." 715 

the proposal, commanded that it should be put in exe- 
cution ; yet in doing so he advised the Persians to 
prepare themselves henceforward not to command but 
to obey ; for, said he, it is the order of nature that de- 
licious lands should produce delicate men. Nor is it 
given to the same soil to bear at once the most admir- 
able fruits, and men valiant in war. The Persians, per- 
ceiving the truth of this assertion, acknowledged them- 
selves vanquished by the opinion of Cyrus, and chose 
rather to govern, inhabiting a barren land, than to cul- 
tivate fertile plains, as the slaves of others. 



GENERAL NOTICES. 



The reader of Herodotus will naturally seek information on some 
points relative to which little more can, with candour, be said, than 
that they are involved in obscurity. It would indeed be easy to repeat 
certain commonly received opinions, and it might seem safe to follow 
certain respectable authorities:— but when the justness of these opi- 
nions is known to be open to very strong suspicion, and when the most 
respectable writers are at variance, it would be a virtual imposition 
upon the simplicity of the unlearned reader to deal out to him such 
doubtful and controverted statements as if they were acknowledged 
truths. On the other hand, to adduce the reasons which support 
opposing opinions, would require treatises to be written, instead of 
brief notes. The only course that remains is to advertize him, that, on 
such and such topics, his wish for satisfactory and concise information 
cannot be gratified. There are questions connected with ancient history 
which, twenty years ago, might have been stated positively, but upon 
which it would now betray either ignorance or an absurd dogmatism, to 
speak in any such tone of assurance. 

1. The first of these debated subjects is the chronology of the events 
recorded by Herodotus. I have placed in the margin of my translation 
the dates which I found attached to the Greek text of Schweighasuser's 
edition, and which are adopted by Prof. Gaisford ; — in a few instances 
only admitting a correction on the authority of Larcher. But the reader 
is cautioned against supposing that they are absolutely certain and incon- 
trovertible. He will however remember that the chronology of the 
Persian war is liable only to some lesser and unimportant diversities of 
opinion ; while that of the more remote ages of Grecian and Asiatic 
history can scarcely be said to rest on any substantial basis. Learned 
ingenuity may indeed give a plausible appearance to this or that hypo- 
thesis, but still it remains — only an hypothesis. The reader who wishes 
to inform himself on this subject, will of course refer to Dr. Hale's New 
Analysis of Chronology, the most elaborate and satisfactory work extant 
on the difficult subject of which it treats. A system of chronology 
adapted to the history of Herodotus, is subjoined by Larcher to his 
translation. 

2. Intimately connected with the subject of chronology, is that of 
the correspondence of profane and sacred history ; a subject of great 
interest and some importance. I should have deemed it an indispensa- 
ble part of my task— could it have been executed consistently with 
truth and candour — to give the reader a clue by which he might identify 



718 GENERAL NOTICES. 

the persons and events of the Persian history, as they occur in Hero- 
dotus, with those mentioned by the inspired writers. And if I had 
been contented to follow some one of such authorities as Prideaux, 
Usher, Shuckford, Hales, this might have been done. But very serious 
difficulties attend every explication that has hitherto been advanced, and 
though of late much of the light (or of the darkness) of .ient?J f uing 
has been brought to bear on these difficulties, very little, if anjP$ ,gress 
is made towards their solution. I shall therefore attempt nothing more 
than just to direct the reader's attention to a few points, in which the 
coincidence between the narrative of Herodotus and that of the Jewish 
historians and prophets may be traced with more or less of certainty. 

i. The description of the extent, magnificence, and wealth of Babylon, 
and of the dissoluteness of its inhabitants, pp. 84 — 96, accords well with 
the allusions of the prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. 

ii. The story of Hercules, p. 124, will remind every reader of the 
history of Samson, though disguised in its circumstances, by the Egyp- 
tian priests. 

iii. The capture of Jerusalem by Shishak, king of Egypt, in the reign 
of Rehoboam, 1 Kings xiv. 25. 2 Chron. xii. is certainly the same event 
as, is mentioned by Herodotus, p. 145-6, and attributed by him to 
Sesostris. He says he had himself seen in the Syrian Palestine the 
columns erected by the Egyptian king in commemoration of his con- 
quests ; and that these bore the emblem of ignominy, indicating that 
little resistance had been made to the conqueror. This agrees with the 
manner in which the invasion is spoken of by the author of the Book 
of Chronicles. 

iv. Herodotus mentions Sanacherib, p. 161, Sennmherib, and gives a 
corrupted account of his miraculous defeat, as reported to him by the 
Egyptian priests. See 2 Chron. xxxii. and Is. xxxvi. 

v. The defeat of Josiah at Megiddo by Pharaoh Nechoh, as related 
2 Kings xxiii. 29 ; and 2 Chron. xxxv. 20, is referred to by our author, 
p. 174 : he misnames the place where the battle was fought, calling it 
Magdolus. In a note upon the passage the reader will find the evidence 
which proves that by Cadytis Herodotus intends Jerusalem. 

vi. In adjusting the history of the Persian kings, Cyrus, Cambyses, 
Darius Hystaspes, and Xerxes, to the Scripture history, some 
disputable questions arise which could not fairly be stated within a 
narrow compass ; the reader who wishes for information on the subject 
will consult the writers already mentioned ; to which ought to be added, 
Sir John Malcolm's History of Persia : or he will find the subject treated 
in a compendious and lucid manner in that ably conducted work, the 
Modern Traveller— Persia, Part I. Those instances in which the testi- 
mony of Herodotus contains the fulfilment of prophecies, are adduced 
by Bishop Newton, or the reader may find the subject presented in a" 
condensed but forcible manner, in Keith's Sketch of the Evidence from 
Prophecy. 

3. A large proportion of those frequent digressions which interrupt 
our author's narrative, consists of geographical descriptions. These, 
with the exception of a few erroneous computations of distance, or state- 



GENERAL NOTICES. 719 

merits of relative position, are proved by modern researches to be in a 
high degree exact ; and they afford a convincing proof of our author's 
care and industry in collecting information. In many instances his state- 
ments are more correct than those of the later geographical writer's — 
Ptolemy, Strabo, and Pliny. This interesting subject has been very 
fully 'ed by JVIajor Rennell, in his Geographical System of Herodotus 
exam. , and explained, &c. to which the reader is referred. And in 
Larcher's notes ; and in his Table of Geography, almost every doubtful 
point is copiously and learnedly discussed. 

4. Our author's notions of astronomy and of natural philosophy were 
not only very confined and erroneous, but inferior to those of the age 
in which he lived. He had evidently paid no attention to subjects of 
this class, and he betrays his ineptitude whenever he attempts to reason 
upon them. The reader will be liable to very little perplexity from this 
source, and will know what to understand when the historian informs 
him that " the sun was darkened at mid-day ;" or when he reads that 
the force of the wintry storms is such, that " it drives the sun from the 
mid-heavens towards the remote regions of Libya," where he is detained 
in exile until the northern blasts have spent their rage. I have thought 
it better to translate passages of this kind in all their simplicity, than to 
dress them in the phraseology of modern science. 

6. On the subject of natural history our author is tolerably exact, so 
far as his personal knowledge extended. He has however admitted — 
yet almost always with the distinct caution — " I report only what I 
heard" — some fabulous accounts. Thus he tells us of the phoenix, of 
griffins, of pigmies, of one-eyed, and of goat-footed men, &c. Yet in 
not a few instances some substantial truth is veiled under these fables. 

6. The capital question of our author's historical authenticity, I have 
treated in a volume recently published,* to which I refer the reader. 
He will bear in mind the simple rule of holding his faith in suspense in 
what relates to remote ages ; while he may rely with very little hazard 
upon the narrative of later events; — those I mean of the Persian inva- 
sion. A few incidents, derived from the testimony of interested priests, 
or of individuals not subject to be confronted by other evidence, are 
manifestly of no authority; but these exceptions make no important 
deduction from the credit of the history. The least authentic portions 
of the main narrative are the speeches and dialogues, which, with the 
exception of a few repartees, likely to have been remembered, arc 
scarcely ever to be deemed genuine. They are embellishments with which 
the taste of the times made it necessary that an historian should relieve 
the story. The intelligent reader will not fail to observe, that in our 
author's descriptions of the conflicts between the Greeks and Persians, 
there is none of that vapouring and inflation of style, or exaggeration, 
which bring the narratives of some later historians under just suspicion. 
He does justice to the valour of the Persians ; and attributes their de- 
feats to the imperfection of their weapons— to their mistaken system of 
warfare, and to the errors and folly of their leaders. On the other hand, 

* The Process of Historical Proof exemplified and explained. 



720 GENERAL NOTICES. 

he makes no scruple of mentioning the fears and trepidations which pre- 
vailed among the Greeks ; nor conceals their childish contestations, and 
interested treasons. That a narrative so little complimentary to the 
vanity of the people at large, and so derogatory to the honour of several 
powerful states, should have been received and admired by the Greeks, 
gives high proof of the freedom, vigour, and integrity of public opinion 
among that people. 

7. The religious opinions of Herodotus are not to be gathered with 
certainty from his mode of speaking on subjects of this kind. It may 
however be conjectured that he held the mythologies of the Greeks 
in contempt, yet without perceiving the superiority of the purer theo- 
logy of which it is evident he had obtained some knowledge in the east. 
He seems to have held the doctrine so common to travellers — that the 
religious systems of nations are all equally absurd, and yet should all 
be treated with decorous respect. His sense of right and wrong, if not 
very acute, is rather more so than that of many of the Greek writers ; and 
on the whole his history, like the poems of Homer, bears towards the 
side of good morals, and is far from being chargeable .with any 
corrupting tendency. On the contrary, many powerful lessons of 
virtue are met with in the course of the narrative, and exclusively of a 
few objectionable phrases, which have been modified in the present 
translation, the whole work is eminently proper for the perusal of young 
persous. 

8. Our author's political principles are much less obscure than his 
religious Relief. As in early life he had signalized himself by his active 
opposition to the tyranny established in his native city, so on every 
proper occasion he holds up every form of absolute and irresponsible 
rule as an object of dread and abhorrence ; and declares himself the 
friend of popular government. The evils of democracy had scarcely 
developed themselves in his time, and he seems very little aware of the 
impracticability which afterwards became so apparent in Greece, of 
conducting the business of state in a mob-like assembly. 



There are some terms of frequent occurrence which demand a few 
words of explanation. 

1. When Herodotus is speaking of Grecian affairs, or reporting the 
speeches of Greeks, he uses the word $sog God, almost always — per- 
haps invariably, in its mythological sense, to indicate this or that divinity 
of the popular superstition, and most often Apollo, who was the principal 
oracular personage in Greece. But when the sentiments of the Persians 
are reported, there seems reason, from the style of the context, to think 
that a purer and more elevated idea of the Maker and Ruler of the 
world was, in the author's intention, attached to the same word. I have 
therefore, though not always on absolutely satisfactory grounds of discri- 
mination, marked this difference of sense by using or not using the 
definite article and the initial capital. 

The word ccufMov — damon, is used rather indefinitely by Herodotus ; 
most often to supply the want of an abstract term for the deity ; and 



GENERAL NOTICES. 721 

may be translated— Providence. Sometimes it seems equivalent to 
the phrase — the god. 

2. BaeriXeuc— king, is used in several senses. " The king," or " the 
Great King," means the sovereign of Persia by eminence ; as we say 
" the Grand Seignior "—lord. This word is not applied by Herodotus 
to rulers of any rank or sort who owned subjection to the " great king ;" 
but is only employed when the nations lying beyond the bounds of the 
Persian empire are mentioned — as for example the {ancient) Egyptians, 
the Libyans, the Indians, the Scythians, and the Thracians. Not seldom 
the phrase "kings" means nothing more than nobles, or the class of 
1 an d-proprietors . 

3. TvpavvoQ — tyrant, an absolute ruler or despot — is applied by our 
author to the irresponsible petty sovereigns of Grecian cities ; — never, I 
believe, to the native sovereigns of barbarian states. These tyrants 
were either enterprizing individuals, who by management and force had 
usurped supreme power in particular cities, as the Pisistratids of Athens ; 
or the hereditary monarchs of small states, as some of those of Magna 
Grecia ; or they were the governors who held power under the Persian 
kings in the Grecian cities of Asia : such were Aristagoras, Histieeus, 
Miltiades, &c. This title, which originally conveyed only the simple 
idea of office, gradually acquired an obnoxious sense, derived in part 
from the licentious ferocity which often attended its exercise ; and in 
part from the heat of democratical declamations. 

4. The word IIoXic — city, though not seldom applied, by extension of 
meaning, to a collection of buildings included wi,thin walls, when used 
by Herodotus in its proper sense, means — commonwealth, or state ; and 
I have in these instances so translated it. The town or collection of 
houses, &c. is signified by another word — aarv, which in its special 
meaning belonged to Athens. To " found a city " — in the language of 
Herodotus, means to establish a colony ; that is to say, to clear and 
enclose a tract of land on a foreign shore — to raise walls sufficiently 
extensive to afford a place of refuge to the colonists, when attacked by 
the aborigines, to establish a police, and to erect a temple or two. 

5. The term — Barbarian, as every one knows, was applied by the 
Greeks to all people not of Greek extraction ; and by the arrogance of 
national vanity, acquired a meaning of contumely. It is used as a term 
of haughty contempt frequently in the last three books. 

6. The Hoplites — biikirai, heavy armed troops, were those who wore 
the complete Grecian defensive armour, as well as being furnished with 
the weapons of offence— the long spear and sword. These formed the 
substantial part of the army, being free citizens, and thoroughly trained 
to military service. The light armed — \pi\oi — were unfurnished with 
defensive armour, carried bows or slings, and were considered as 
attendants upon the Hoplites. Thus the helots of Sparta' were 
brought into the field ; seven of these slaves being assigned to each 
citizen. 

7. The ancient ships were either long ships— that is galleys, constructed 
only for war ; or merchant vessels of a more cumbrous make. The 
war galleys were impelled — besides the occasional use of sails, by 

3 A 



722 GENERAL NOTICES. 

rowers, arranged in galleries, one over the other, in two, three, or some- 
times many stages. The prow was armed with one, two, or three brazen 
spikes, placed just between wind and water, and intended to pierce the 
sides of an enemy's ship ; and by the united effect of the shock and 
rupture, to sink it. When the stroke of the galley upon its antagonist 
failed to send it to the bottom, a conflict took place between the armed 
men who were crowded in each vessel, and who fought with javelins, 
hatchets, and swords, until one of the ships was boarded and taken. 
The trireme was a galley having three banks, or galleries of rowers — 
thirty or fifty on each bench. The penteconter was a smaller vessel, 
impelled by fifty rowers. The trieconter had thirty rowers. The 
Greeks held the seas against the much superior numbers of the 
Persians, and at length utterly discomfited the invader, not only 
by their better discipline and higher spirit, but by the skill and 
boldness with which they used the trireme as an engine of percus- 
sion. The brawny arms of one or two hundred lusty fellows, giving 
their pull with the precision of musical time, imparted a momentum to 
the ponderous war boat, which, when skilfully direeted against the side 
of a vessel at rest, infallibly sent it down. The crews of these vessels 
of war were, if possible, encamped on shoje every night, while the ships 
were drawn upon the beach. 

8. A table of the road measures mentioned by Herodotus, will enable 
the reader to make any calculations he may wish upon our author's state- 
ments ; but a ready recollection of the gross value of terms of measure- 
ment is generally so important to the intelligence of historical narratives, 
that, in most instances throughout the translation, I have used an English 
term nearly, though not precisely equivalent to the Greek, rather than 
either employ the Greek word, or encumber the memory with fractions. 
The precise value of the principal term — the stadium, as employed by 
Herodotus, is not ascertained satisfactorily. It seems, either that he 
refers to a different measure under the same name, in speaking of dif- 
ferent countries, or that his computations in some instances were founded 
on very inaccurate information. Or perhaps in some cases a corruption 
of the text has taken place. When giving measurements in Egypt, and 
the countries north of the Euxine, his stadium must be supposed much 
smaller than that by which he computes distances in Greece and Asia 
Minor. And even in some of his statements relative to Greece it seems, 
though he does not advertise the reader of his doing so, that he intends 
the smaller or Pythian, not the common or Olympic stadium. The mode 
in which he computes distances— whether inclusive or not of incurvations, 
is also undetermined. Under air these uncertainties, it would be al- 
together deceptive to affect precision : the reader who wishes to pursue 
particulars of this sort, will of course examine for himself the Greek 
text critically, and have recourse to the notes of the principal editions. 
The general reader, who cares only for so much information on this head 
as is necessary to understand the narrative, will bear in mind that the 
word furlong is used by accommodation for a measure always less than 
the eighth of an English mile; and sometimes for one less than the 
tenth. 



NOTES ON PARTICULAR PASSAGES. 723 

The English furlong is equal to . . 660 English feet. 
The Olympic stadium, to ... 630 

The Pythian stadium, to . . . 504£ 

The Orgyia (fathom), to . . . 6 feet and half an inch. 

The Pechys (cubit), to . . . 1 6J inches. 

The Grecian foot, to .... 1 .0875 dec. of an inch. 
The Plethron is a land measure, reckoned equal to 100 Grecian feet, or 
the sixth part of the stadium. Herodotus uses also some foreign terms 
of measurement, as the schcene, or line, equal, according to his state- 
ment, to sixty stades ; though he seems to have overrated its real value. 
The term is used also for a measure of thirty stades, equivalent to the 
Persian parasang. 



NOTES ON PARTICULAR PASSAGES. 

Page 6. 

This prediction toas confirmed by the event.'] This is the first 

of very many prophetic oracles which the reader will find gravely 
quoted by Herodotus, and to which, as appears from his own explicit 
assertion, he himself gave credit (p. 615) though evidently not without 
a degree of hesitation, probably arising from his knowledge of the 
frauds and managements perpetually carried on by the priests at the 
oracular temples. Yet there were, in his opinion, too many proofs of 
the possession of superhuman knowledge by those who delivered 
these oracles, to allow of his calling it in question, as some did, it seems, 
even in that age. So far as any importance attaches to the subject, it 
is to be regretted that he has not, even in a single instance, put his 
reader in possession of the proper historical proof of the existence of 
these predictions prior to the events to which they relate ; nor shown on 
what ground he had reason to confide in the integrity and genuineness 
of the verses which he quotes, and which apparently he had received 
from the priests who were the interested ministers of the oracles. This 
entire absence of the very proof most necessary in such cases may 
well be held to deprive such predictions of all claim to serious atten- 
tion. How far a superhuman knowledge was at the command of those 
who managed the oracles, is a question not to be discussed in a small 
space. However it might be decided, there are proofs enough, which 
the reader will not fail to observe, in Herodotus, that the responses 
were under the corrupt control of statesmen, and employed by them as 
an engine of policy. 

Page 10. 

Stretching a cord from her temple, &c] A precaution not unusual 
among the ancients during a siege, and intended to prevent the escape 
of the tutelary deity in the hour of peril. For it was believed that the 
gods, when they foresaw that the capture of a city was inevitable, took 

3 A 2 



724 NOTES ON 

themselves off rather than witness the destruction of their votaries. 
Thus the Tyrians chained Apollo to his place when besieged by 
Alexander. 

Page 14. 
If we fix the term of human life, &c] The entire passage is as fol- 
lows—" I lay down seventy years as the limit of the life of man. These 
seventy years contain 25,200 days, exclusive of the intercalary months. 
But if you will make the alternate years longer by a month, (By 
adding the intercalary months to the whole ■period,') in order that 
the seasons may come round at the proper time ; then these inter- 
calary months, in the seventy years, will amount to thirty-five, and the 
days contained in them to 1,500. Now of all these days, making up the 
seventy years, and amounting to 26,250 days, not one brings with it 
events altogether like those of another," &c. 

Page 21. Note. 
The common Attic talent valued 56lb. lloz. 17£gre. The mina — 
lib. 2oz. lldwts. 10 2-7th grs. 

Page 22. 

Amphiaraus son of Apollo, was swallowed up in his chariot by the 
earth, on his return from the Argive expedition against Thebes. He 
received divine honours after death, and was deemed to impart the 
knowledge of futurity. Those who consulted him were obliged, after 
long abstinence, to sleep in his temple ; when they received in a dream 
the answer to their inquiry. Frequent mention is made of this oracle. 
The temple was situated at Oropus in Attica. 

Page 33. 

This eclipse of the sun recorded by Herodotus has been the subject of 
long and learned discussion ; for could it, beyond question, be deter- 
mined which, of several eclipses that may be ascertained to have hap- 
pened about that period, is here intended, an important point would be 
gained for the solution of chronological difficulties. But this certainty 
seems not attainable. The knowledge of astronomy implied in the pre- 
diction of Thales was confined, at least in Greece, to so small a number 
of individuals, that the superstitious fears excited by this ordinary phe- 
nomenon continued in full force during the most enlightened periods of 
Grecian history. And many a time men who were not ashamed of 
slaughtering each other under the broad light of the sun, were stopped 
in the work of blood by their groundless fears, when, as if in horror, he 
withdrew his beams. 

Page 46. 

It has been supposed that the " three distinct accounts" of the ex- 
ploits of Cyrus here referred to are — that given by our author — that 
adopted by Xenophon in his Cyropaedia, and that related by Ctesias ; 
but this is mere conjecture. If indeed there were in Persia, in our 
author's age — " three distinct accounts," of so illustrious a personage as 



PARTICULAR PASSAGES. 725 

Cyrus, the last years of whose reign might be remembered by indi- 
viduals alive at the time when Herodotus was in Asia, we may be 
assured that authentic and well attested memoirs of his exploits had 
either never existed, or were presently lost; otherwise the various and 
exaggerated rumours which national vanity on the one hand, or which 
the ill nature of detractors on the other, might originate, could not so 
far have prevailed as to leave an intelligent collector of historical facts 
in perplexity. We ought therefore to receive the narrative given ns by 
the Greek historians, as of extremely uncertain authority. I have had 
occasion to advert to the difference between Herodotus and Xenophon 
in the " Process of Historical Proof," p. 100, and note p. 318. 

Page 48. 

I must request indulgence for stepping so far out of my province as to 
suggest an inquiry whether the description here given of Ecbatana — 
even though its correctness were doubted, might furnish any illustration 
of Revelation xxi. 10 — 21. The Median city was constructed on a 
conical hill, and consisted of seven diminishing circular platforms, each 
distinguished by the colour of its wall. May we understand the de- 
scription of the New Jerusalem as meaning a quadrangular pyramid of 
twelve stages — or foundations, variously garnished with precious stones. 
No incongruity will then be implied in the measurement which affirms 
that u the length, and breadth, and height of the city are equal." Such 
staged pyramids were not unknown to the ancient architecture of Asia : 
and may it be presumed that this construction of the city thf*t shall 
" descend from heaven," is intended to symbolize the towering hierarchy 
of thrones, dominions, powers, that shall take place under the Messiah's 
reign ? 

Page 85. 

The considerable diversities in the measurements given by ancient 
authors of the walls of Babylon afford strong probability to the sup- 
position that Herodotus and other Greeks used the word stadium in 
translating the Asiatic terms of measurement by accommodation, as being 
the nearest to the truth which their language offered ; and that they are 
not to be understood as affirming that they had themselves measured the 
walls by the Greek stadium. This supposition removes the hope of obtain- 
in« certainty on the subject. The reader who wishes to pursue the inquiry, 
will peruse the notes of the translators ; and especially the chapter on 
the site and remains of ancient Babylon, in Major Rennell's Geography 
of Herodotus ; or that on the same subject by Sir W. Di ummond in his 
" Ori«nnes," The greatest extent that has been affirmed need not seem 
to surpass the limits of probability ; for Babylon was not properly a 

c ity understanding the terfn in its modern sense— but a walled province, 

including, besides palaces, temples, and the houses of a vast population, 
large spaces of garden ground, arable land, and parks, which rendered 
the place in a great measure independent of the surrounding country, 
and enabled it to sustain a lengthened siege. Our ideas of ancient 
Babylon are perhaps best taken from descriptions of the modern capital 

3 a 3 



726 NOTES ON 

of China, and perhaps also we should approach nearer to tile truth were 
wc to derive from such a comparison a very considerable abatement of 
those ideas of magnificence and of architectural sublimity which we have 
been accustomed to attribute to — Babylon the Great. 

Page 86. 

" Filled with houses of three and four stories"— or, having many such 
hoases ; besides, no doubt, a large proportion of mere huts. The c'e- 
scription given by Quintns Curtius, B. V. should be taken in explanation 
of that of our author. "The edifices do not approach the walls — a space 
of about an acre (intended probably for two hundred and forty feet) 
intervening; nor is the whole city occupied with habitations, but ninety 
stades ; nor are the houses contiguous ; it being thought, as I suppose, 
more safe to have them scattered — the rest of the ground is cultivated 
for the supply of the inhabitants in the event of a siege." 

Page 94. 

The fruitfulness of the palm was believed to depend upon the pre- 
sence of the fly, or rather worm, which occupies the bud. Various 
processes of impregnation are described by ancient and modern authors. 

Page 97. 

An error must be attributed to some part of our author's description 
of this river : he probably confounds the Araxes with the Ochus, which 
discharges itself on the eastern side of the Caspian ; or perhaps with 
the Oxus or the Jaxartes. 

Page 106, §. 

Sixty furlongs.] In these measurements of Egypt, the lesser stadium 
must be understood. 

Page 110, t. 
The employment of swine for these purposes, though asserted by 
other authors, has appeared utterly incredible to modern annotators; 
and it has been supposed that oxen must be intended. These con- 
jectural alterations of the text, merely to avoid a seeming difficulty, are 
to be shunned.-We can rarely affirm of foreign and ancient usages, 
that they are incredible. 

Page 111, * 
The reader must keep in mind that the Nile, not the Red Sea, was 
considered by the ancients as the boundary between Africa and Asia- 
the country between the Nile and the Red Sea was assigned to 
Arabia. Thw notice may serve to explain several passages which 
the reader will presently meet with. 

Page 113. 
River ocean.] See foot notes to pages 271 and 282. 



PARTICULAR PASSAGES. 727 

Page 114. 
I conclude therefore that the sum.] Our author's account of his own 
hypothesis will not perhaps be immediately understood by the reader. 
The substance of what he means to say seems to be this — That the 
Nile during its inundation, after the summer solstice, is only at its 
natural level; and that it is less the rest of the year, because, unlike 
other rivers, it is exposed during the winter also to evaporation ; while 
it is deprived of those replenishing rains which then fill other rivers. 
The storms of winter he thinks drive the sun from the mid heavens 
towards the south, where he employs the months of his exile in dimi- 
nishing the sources of the Nile. Herodotus was no astronomer. 

Page 118. 

May be passed in five days.] Herodotus evidently underrates the 
width of the peninsular Asia; for he would not reckon so much as 
fifty-six miles as a day's journey, even to " a good traveller;" thirty -five 
miles being the distance usually calculated for the travelling of a 
courier on foot. 

Page 130. 

It is not pwrnitted to me to say, &c] Expressions of this sort fre- 
quently occur in our author : — in some of these, as that noted page 
125, it seems that he excuses himself from the disagreeable task of 
describing the filthy obscenities of the Egyptian ceremonies. But more 
often, as there is reason to believe, from a religious scruple, he avoids 
mentioning name* which he had learned by being initiated in sacred 
mysteries, and which it would have been a violation of his vows to 
disclose. See pages 138, 179. 

Page 134. 

The Phoenix.] In matters of natural history, even when correct in 
substance, Herodotus is to be heard with caution, and indeed he com- 
monly himself suggests this caution by the phrase— "I report what I 
have been told." In this doubting style he relates the fable of the 
phoenix — a fable very generally believed by the ancients. 

Page 137. 

This ode of lamentation — " in use among the Egyptians from the most 
remote ages," and said to have been sung in honour of the only son of 
an Egyptian king, may just be conjectured to have commemorated that 
night of sorrow for Egypt, when there was not a house in which there 
was not one dead. 

Page 138. 

Not lawful to mention : see above. 

Page 1C1. 

For the death of J£sop.~] This passage has been variously translated.— 
The sense to me seems clearly this, that as the Delphians had put TEsop 

3 a 4 



728 NOTES ON 

to death by throwing him from a rock, in revenge of his railleries, they 
were required to expatiate their crime by paying a fine to him who 
could establish his right to receive it. The grandson of Jadmon made 
the claim on the ground that the fabulist had been the property of his 
ancestor. 

Page 164. 

Samcharib, king of the Arabians, &c] The Sennacherib of scripture 
history. " Herodotus," says Prideaux, " gives us from the relation of 
the Egyptian priests, some kind of a disguised account of this deli- 
verance from the Assyrians in a fabulous application of it to the city of 
Pelusium, instead of Jerusalem, and to Sethon, the Egyptian king, 

instead of Hezekiah : by whose piety he saith it was obtained, &c 

and it is particularly to be remarked that Herodotus calls the king of 
Assyria, to whom he saith this happened, by the same name of Sen- 
nacherib, as the scriptures do, and the time in both doth also well 
agree, which plainly shews that it is the same fact that is referred to by 
Herodotus, although much disguised in the relation ; which may easily 
be acsounted for when we consider that it comes to us through the hands 
of such as had the greatest aversion both to the nation and the religion 
of the Jews, and therefore would relate nothing in such manner as 
might give any reputation to either." Vol. I. an. 710. 

Page 175. 

Cadytis, a great city in Syria.!; Though not without dissenting voices, 
the fact seems well established, that Herodotus here, and page 188, 
means Jerusalem : the reasons for thinking so are thus given by Pri- 
deaux. — " Herodotus making mention of this expedition of Necho's, 
and also of the battle which he fought at Megiddo — or Magdolum, as he 
calleth it, saith that after the victory there obtained by him, he took the 
great city Cadytis, which city he afterwards describes to be a moun- 
tainous city in Palestine, of the bigness of Sardis in Lydia,the chief city 
of all Lesser Asia, in those tunes. By which description, this city 
Cadytis could be none other than Jerusalem. For that is situated in the 
mountains of Palestine, and there was then nopther city in those parts 
which could be equalled to Sardis, but that only ; and it is certain from 
scripture that after this battle Necho did take Jerusalem ; for he was 
there when he made Jehoiakim king. There is, I confess, no mention of 
this name, either in the scriptures or Josephus. But that it was how- 
ever called so in the time of Herodotus, by the Syrians and Arabians, 
doth appear from this, that it is called by them, and all the eastern 
nations, by no other name but one of the same -original, and the same 
signification, even to this day. For Jerusalem is a name now altogether 
as strange to them as Cadytis is to us. They all call it by the name, 
\lkuds (or rather el Goutz or el Koudes), which signifies the same that 
Cadytis doth ; that is Holy, for from the time that Solomon built the 
temple at Jerusalem, and it was thereby made to all Israel the common 
place of their religious worship, this epithet of the holy was commonly 
given to it This name Kedushah, the holy, became current 



PARTICULAR PASSAGES. ?29 

among the nations ; and by the Syrians who usually turned the Hebrew 
sh into th ;^-Kedutha. And the Syriac in the time of Herodotus being 
the only language that was then spoken in Palestine, he found it when he 
travelled through that country to be called there in the Syriac dialect 
Kedutha; from whence by giving it a Greek termination, he made it 
Kaci/nc, Cadytis, in his history, which he wrote about the time that 
Nehemiah ended his twelve years' government at Jerusalem." Vol. T. 
an. 610. Major Rennell professes the same opinion, Section xi. From 
his error on the subject of circumcision, page 145, and his utter silence 
on the subject of the Jewish customs and worship, though so ready to 
report whatever is remarkable or unusual, it would seem that his visit 
to Jerusalem must have been very hasty ; — some fortuity perhaps com- 
pelled him to pass through the city without making any stay. Had he 
held converse with the Jews, or even witnessed their worship, he would 
assuredly have made some mention of them. 

Page 201. 

Cambyses as in a fit of frenzy.] Though the violence of a man of un- 
governed passions seems to belong to this, and other parts of the conduct of 
the son of Cyrus, the language attributed to him by our author agrees well 
with other indications of the existence among the Persians of a compara- 
tively pure religion. The description given of their notions and worship — 
page 64, is evidently distorted in the manner common to the Greeks, who 
could understand nothing that-seemed altogether unlike their own usages. 
He however there makes a distinction between the ancient and the 
modern religion of the Persians, affirming that polytheism was but lately 
introduced among them. Their extensive conquests had probably led 
to the adoption of foreign superstitions. But the sentiments attributed 
by Herodotus to the Persian chiefs on several occasions — if they may 
be thought to have been at all in character, have much more of theism, 
and much less of a corrupt superstition than is commonly heard from the 
Greeks. The reader will not fail to notice some striking instances of 
this sort in the eighth and ninth books. This clearer light may be sup- 
posed to have been derived either by tradition from patriarchal times ; 
or more lately from frequent intercourse with the Hebrew nation. 

Page 225. 

!ja lie must be told, &c] The bad morality which is here put into the 
mouth of Darius, neither accords with the Persian character, (see 
pp. 66, 67,) nor with the tone of sentiment which belongs generally to 
Herodotus. A scrap of corrupt casuistry, which he had somewhere 
met with, he here thrusts into his narrative. The reader will remember 
that the speeches attributed by our author to the personages of his story 
are rarely to be deemed authentic. 

Page 235. 

The Babylonian and Euboic talents.'] The talent of Eubcea is believed 
to be nearly the same as the Attic, and valued about £193 15s. of 
English money. The Babylonian talent would be worth about £226. 



730 NOTES ON 

The stated revenue of the empire, at this rate, amounts to no more than 
about £2,821,000, or, adding the probable value of the presents and 
gratuities, to £3,650,000, a 6um very inconsiderable for so extensive a 
dominion. " As it cannot be supposed," says Major Rennell, " that 
the statements are generally wrong, although particular errors may be 
expected, it may be collected that the value of money was incredibly 
greater at that time than at present. The rich and trading kingdom of 
Egypt and its dependencies, which sent two hundred triremes to the 
fleet of Xerxes, paid only £320,000, including the corn furnished, and 
which amounted to half of the sum. Thus, if we suppose a population 
of three millions, it will be only about two shillings per head, and the 
people of Bengal at this time, whoare not heavily taxed, pay about seven 
shillings per annum." 

Page 237. 

Such were these governments.] The foregoing description of the sa- 
trapies has undergone minute investigation by modern writers; the 
result of which has been to establish beyond doubt its general authen- 
ticity ; and consequently the industry and fidelity of our author. For 
without actual and laborious researches so much accuracy on a subject 
so difficult would never have been attained. From a comparison of this 
description of countries with that of the army of Xerxes, pp.504 — 513, 
many of those minor coincidences are obtained, which serve to authenti- 
cate both accounts, and so to prove indirectly the principal fact of the 
history — namely, the invasion of Greece, by an army drawn from many 
nations of Asia. 

Page 238. 

The Indians.] The mixture of a few facts with many extravagant 
errors in our author's account of India, proves that he had sought infor- 
mation from persons conversant with the countries beyond the Indus, 
though they to a great extent abused his confidence. The reader will 
remark in many instances that fables of a terrific kind are connected 
with the account of countries whence the precious metals, or other 
valuable productions were obtained : — griffins, flying serpents, &c. are 
ordinarily the guardians of such places. The origin of these scaring 
accounts is not hard to be imagined. The description presently follow- 
ing, of the mode of collecting the Arabian spices, contains several 
instances of this sort of interested exaggeration. 

Page 243. 

The river Eridanu*.~] Supposed to be the Rho-daune, emptying itself 
into the Vistula, near Dantzic, and on the banks of which amber is 
found. 

Page 251. 

The medical skill of Democedes.] If we want a significant and infallible 
criterion of the relative advancement of nations in real cultivation, we 
may take the particular circumstance of the employment of the phy- 



PARTICULAR PASSAGES. 731 

sicians of one country by the people of the other. The people who 
send abroad for professors of the most necessary of the sciences, are 
barbarians, whatever may be their power or opulence. From tbis story 
it is evident, that an Egyptian or a Greek, skilled in the healing art, 
was then valued in Persia very much in the same way that the services 
of a Frank, if he calls himself a physician, are now prized in all parts of 
Asia. 

Page 269. 

Our author's description of Scythia, and of its wandering tribes is, in 
all its leading particulars, verified by the present condition of the same 
regions, and of their occupants. Herodotus had unquestionably wit- 
nessed much of what he describes. There is indeed a considerable error 
in his statements of the figure and extent of these countries, but that 
error may be accounted for without at all impeaching either his fidelity 
or general accuracy. The means of a true knowledge of distance and 
position were not in his power. 

Page 284. 

They had the sun (rising) on the right hand.] The mention of this cir- 
cumstance which, to our author, seemed so incredible, is alone sufficient 
to authenticate the whole narrative : for it would never have been 
imagined by a fabricator of traveller's wonders. I do not think, as 
some suppose, that this refers to the snn at noon, which after passing the 
line would seem to have gone over to the other hand, if the progress of 
the voyagers was obliquely south-west; but rather to the sun rising, 
which after doubling the cape would be on the right. For in the first 
place, the line of coast is so nearly due south, that the voyagers would 
more probably have said the sun was behind them ; and secondly, summer 
voyages in the southern ocean were unquestionably often extended 
below the tropic of Capricorn : to see the sun in the northern heavens 
was therefore not an extraordinary circumstance, and could hardly have 
been reported as such among the Phoenicians. 

Page 287. 

The Ister, &c] The modern names of these rivers are as follow. 
The Ister is the Danube ; the Tyras, the Niester ; the Hypanis, the Bog ; 
the Borysthenes, the Nieper ; the Panticapes, probably, the Samara ; the 
Hypacyris, probably, the Kalauczac ; the Gerrhus has not been identified 
in modern geography, unless it be the Donee; the Tcma'is is the Don. 

Page 328. 

Fcund in Lybia a city.] This is one among several instances occurring 
in our author of the policy pursued by the managers of the Delphic 
oracle, which compelled individuals who were dangerous at home to 
banish themselves with their adherents. It is probable also that the 
system of colonization was thus steadily promoted by the Pythian 
with a view to the extension of her trade in responses : for it had be- 
come customary for the Greeks in the most remote settlements to visit 



732 NOTES ON 

Delphi on occasions of difficulty. By spreading the Greeks over the 
countries surrounding the Mediterranean sea, the customers of the god 
were greatly multiplied. 

Page 843. 
There are seen serpents, &c] Our author's enumeration of the Lybian 
animals on this, and the following page, is not in every instance intelli- 
gible to modern naturalists. In those cases that are doubtful, I have 
adopted the conjectural interpretation which seemed supported by the 
strongest reasons, and where conjecture fails, have, by necessity, ad- 
mitted the word employed by Herodotus. 

Page 345. 

The Libyans and the Ethiopians are the aborigines.] The description, 
given by Herodotus of the native nations of Africa, like that which he 
gives of the Scythians, accords perfectly with the condition of the mo- 
dern aboriginal occupants of the same regions, and serves therefore — 
first, to establish his character as an accurate observer and authentic 
writer; and in the second place to demonstrate, in a striking manner, 
the perpetuity of the modes of savage life. Until he has received the 
quickening of intellectual life, man is the creature of soil and atmosphere, 
and remains from age to age the passive slave of climate. 

Page 348. 

Darius gave them for theii abode a town in Bactria.'] And page 355. 
The reader will notice several instances mentioned by Herodotus of the 
plan pursued by the Asiatic monarchs for disposing of a vanquished 
people. The bulk of the inhabitants of a city or province were not 
unfrequently marched from one extremity of their extensive empire to 
the other, and there comfortably established, and allowed to follow their 
natural usages. This procedure, which seemed dictated by a spirit of 
mildness rather than of ferocity, afforded effectual security against 
renewed rebellions, and at the same time served to diffuse civilization 
among less polished tribes: There is reason to think that the philosophy 
and science' of ancient India were not a little indebted to some such 
deportations of the Greeks to the East, by the Persian kings. The cap- 
tivities of Israel and Judah were instances of the same policy, and pro- 
bably diffused the rays of religious truth through many nations. 

Page 350. 

Sang the PceonJ] Paean. The Greek word iraMvi^io presets the 
sameness of sound by which the mistake of the Paeonians was occasioned : 
this is lost in the word Pcean. The paean was a hymn of thanks- 
giving addressed to Apollo. 

Page 373. 

The itinerary is as follows.'} A mistake or omission exists in these 
computations as the reader will perceive ; nor are the inns arranged in 
equal proportions through the road. Larcher supposes some errors of 



PARTICULAR PASSAGES. 733 

the MSS. and therefore does not pretend to reconcile the apparent 
inconsistency. The fords of rivers and the passes of mountains were 
secured by forts and gates, held by the government. The inns seem to 
have been intended for the accommodation of the Persian king or his 
family, for they were more frequent than the common traveller could 
need, as well as more sumptuous than the eastern caravanserai is wont 
to be, where nothing more than shelter is commonly found. 

Page 385. 
A government which secures an equality of rights.] That is a government 
controlled by the people, in distinction from either a tyranny or oli- 
garchy. A government, like our own, securing the benefits of law to all 
the people, was unknown in ancient times. For a very large ma- 
jority in every community were in the condition of the most abject 
slavery. — At Sparta and at Athens the citizens were a comparatively 
small class. 

Page 402. 

Sardinia that large island.] Sapcfw stands in the text ; it seems 
however a little improbable, that an island so remote from the Persian 
empire, and so little known, until afterwards, even by the Greeks, 
should have been chosen by the wily Greek as the subject of his cajoling 
promise. The name has perhaps been changed by the copyists. Yet 
the improbability is not absolute, for afterwards, page 408, Aristagoras 
proposes to his partizans to retire to Sardinia ; — unless a corruption of 
the name is here also supposed. 

Page 408. 

Thus fell these cities.'] The Greeks of Asia were evidently much in- 
ferior in military virtue to those of Greece. They had not only been 
broken in spirit by long subjugation, but seem to have been enervated 
by luxurious habits. Though in possession of the seas they could make 
no successful resistance to their oppressors. The story of these contests, 
in many of its circumstances, resembles that of the modem war between 
the Greeks and their barbarian masters. 

Page 412. 

The barbarians numbered six hundred ships.] The Persians were supcr- 
stitiously averse to maritime warfare, and indeed only from compulsion 
ever went on board a ship. This prejudice naturally rendered them 
inferior to the Greeks on the sea. Thus in the present instance, though 
almost double in number of ships, they thought themselves unequal to 
the combat; and eventually succeeded only by detaching the Samians 
from the confederacy. 

Page 450. 

An island where the two gods were born.] This deference to the Gre- 
cian superstitions— if indeed it was rendered— by the Persian general, 
was either an act of policy intended to conciliate the Asiatic Greeks, 



734 NOTES ON 

or it must be considered a8 evidencing a great corruption in the religious 
sentiments of the Persians to have taken place since the time of Cam- 
byses, who in his behaviour in Egypt exhibited, not merely the violence 
of an ungoverned temper, but the contempt and abhorrence of 
national feeling towards idolatry. 

Page 454. 

They would not violate the law.] The Lacedaemonians were indeed 
forbidden to undertake military expeditions in the early days of the 
moon, or during certain festivals ; but it seems that when their leaders 
thought it necessary, they disregarded these superstitions, and on the 
other hand made a pretext of them when they wanted a pretext for 
delay, or for treachery towards their allies. Some notable instances of 
this paltry hypocrisy appear in the subsequent history. The principle of 
the Spartan government was a selfish and narrow-minded caution. 

Page 458. 

In the centre, &c] It is not improbable that the genius of Miltiades 
prompted him to risque the defeat of the centre in the hope of accom- 
plishing the movement which actually took place. He might think it 
probable that the best portion of the Barbarian army would succeed in 
driving in the Greeks opposed to them, in spite of their utmost efforts; 
he therefore conceded to them this first success, and then, with the 
strength of the Grecian army, closed upon them behind. Later writers 
have added a multitude of embellishments to the brief narrative given 
by Herodotus of this battle. But they are to be considered for the 
most part as pure inventions. 

Page 467. 

Whether to move those things, &c] If this story is considered as authen- 
tic, it is probable that the intention of Miltiades was, at the suggestion 
of the priestess, to carry away some sacred bauble upon the presence 
of which the security of the island was believed to depend. The story 
of the palladium is an instance of this kind of superstition. 

Page 479. 

See you that God hurls his bolts.'] Both the sentiments and the phra- 
seology of this passage indicate derivation from the Hebrew Scriptures, 
and are very unlike what is heard from the lips of Greeks. 

Page 485. 

Thus did Xerxes draw together his forces none of these armies can 

be compared with that of Xerxes. For what people of Asia was there which 
Xerxes did not lead against Greece!] These expressions will bring to the 
reader's recollection the concise but significant prediction of Daniel 
xi. 2. " Behold there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia, and the 
fourth shall be far richer than they all, and by his strength, through his 
riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia." 



PARTICULAR PASSAGES. 735 



Page 501. 
Addressing a prayer to the sun.] The worship of the sun and of fire 
was the predominant religion of the Persians ; though they had admitted 
the mythologies of the conquered countries. 

Pages 503—511. 

This description of the forces of Xerxes, when compared in particulars 
with that before given of the Satrapies, page 234, and with facts other- 
wise ascertained, affords too many minute coincidences to leave any 
reasonable doubt of the authenticity of the narrative. This description 
could not have been fabricated, without betraying the art or ignorance 
of the inventor. 

Page 513. 

There were Persians, Medes or Saces on board all the ships,] — to compel 
obedience. Nothing less than absolute necessity induced the Persians 
to violate the sanctity of the sea by furrowing its bosom with the 
keel of a ship. See page 67. 

Page 534. 

A wooden fort shall be impregnable.] A hint from Themistocles pro- 
bably suggested this phrase to the Pythian. He availed himself of it 
and saved Greece. 

Page 546. 

We who alone liave never been removed from our territory.'] See page 23. 
The Athenians prided themselves on their immemorial occupation of the 
Attic territory, while the Doric races, including the Lacedaemonians, 
were known to have migrated frequently. Thucydides, (I. 2,) allows the 
justness of this pretension, but attributes the fact of the immobility of 
the people of Attica to the poverty of the soil which had not attracted 
intruders. 

Page 554, and 563. 

Thermopylce.] The reader will no doubt be pleased to read a descrip- 
tion of this celebrated spot in its present appearance, as given by a dis- 
tinguished modern traveller. " On the 24th we pursued our journey. 
The road was near the sea, and the mountains rose about a quarter of 
a mile on our left. We crossed a small marsh and two streams, and had 
a view of the open iEgean sea, between Eubcea and the Thessalian shore, 
with the islands of Skopelos and Skiathos, towards the north-east. 
Turnin« to the south-west, the summits of Parnassos were distin- 
guished, glittering with snow, over a dip of Mount Knemis. As we 
proceeded, the road was terminated by the interruption of rocks and 
bushes, and we rode for ten minutes through a shallow part of the sea. 

We pursued our journey, and after crossing two streams, 

observed a tumulus of stones to the right, upon an artificial bank that had 



736 NOTES ON 

been elevated from a marsh. As we approached the pass of Thermo- 
pylae, the scenery assumed at once an aspect of more beauty and sub- 
limity. To our left were the lofty and shattered precipices of (Eta, 
covered with forests ; while silver lines of descending springs sparkled 
in the shade. The luxuriant plain of Trachis, encircled by distant 
mountains, was expanded in our front ; while on the right, the eye 
expatiated over the marshes of Thermopylae, and the Malaic Gulph, 
reaching to the foot of the Thessalian heights. Our way led through a 
forest shade of various trees of stately growth, beneath which a disper- 
sion of odoriferous and flowery shrubs scented the air, while the clus- 
tering vine hung its fantastic garlands from the wide-branching platanus. 
The scene was one of voluptuous blandishment. No gratification was 
wanting which the enraptured lover of landscape could desire. Nature 
here displayed all her multiform charms. The exuberant' soil teemed 
with a captivating wilderness of plants and flowers. The olive, the 
laurel, the oleander, and the arbutus; the terebinth, rosemary, agnos, 
yellow jasmine, and lentiscus, the christakanthos, tamarisk, and gummy 
cistus, luxuriated on all sides, and seemed to revel in the genial clime. 
We now approached the spot where the best blood of Greece and of 
other nations had so often been spilt. A few paces to the left of the 
road is a green hillock, with a house upon its summit, which was once 
a derbeni, or custom-house. Here the horizontal surface of the rock is 
cut into channels for the reception of the water which comes from the 
neighbouring springs. The marsh begins immediately on the right, 
extending about a mile to the sea ; but the narrowest part of the pass is 
further on. The battle raged with the greatest fury in the widest part 
of the pass, where Leonidas so glorionsly fell. After his death the sur- 
viving Spartans and Thespians, repassing their fortification, took post 
upon a hillock at the commencement of the defile, where they made a 
desperate defence till they were surrounded and destroyed. I conceive 
the derbeni hill to be the spot to which Herodotus alludes. It is pro- 
bable also, that these devoted heroes were buried where they fell, and 
that this hill served as their common sepulchre. As the shades of night 
were enveloping the interesting scene, we had not time for a more 
minute investigation. We therefore continued our route, and about 
twenty-five minutes from the derbeni, crossed two streams, one of which 
was warm, the other cold : fifty minutes more brought us to the narrowest 
part of the pass, where we entered Thessaly. But as it was dark, we 
reserved till the next day the more attentive contemplation of a spot 
consecrated by historical recollections of the most lofty and animating 
kind. It is a locality that is peculiarly fitted to kindle the glow of clas- 
sical enthusiasm in the breast. We passed the streams which issue from 
the hot springs, and crossing a bridge over the river at the northern 
extremity of the pass, arrived at a khan, a little before ten, after a very 
interesting though fatiguing day. 

" Before I undertake a description of this place, it may be necessary to 
observe that if the traveller takes Herodotus and Strabo, for unerring 
guides in his examination of this celebrated spot, he will be liable to be 
misled at almost every step of his way. Nor will the dubious light they 



PARTICULAR PASSAGES. 737 

afford enable him to identify scarcely any thing but the pass itself, and the 
thermal springs, which remain as they were in his time. It must how- 
ever be understood, that I am by no means accusing the above-named 
authors of inaccuracy or negligence in their descriptions; and much 
less Herodotus, whose account was no doubt perfectly suitable to the 
place at the time he wrote. But the whole country has since experienced 
great physical as well as moral revolutions. ' The sea has retired, rivers 
have altered their courses, and towns, castles, and temples have been 
swept from the surface of the earth, or ingulphed in the marshes, and 
over-grown with reeds and bushes. Considering all these various 
changes and convulsions of nature, it is not surprising that out of six 
celebrated rivers which discharged themselves into the sea in the vici- 
nity of Thermopylae, only three can at present be identified with any 
degree of certainty : these are the Boagrios, the Asopos, and the 

Spercheios We rode up a steep part of the mountain, in 

M)rder to examine the ruins of an ancient town or castle : as the way was 
extremely bad and difficult we were an hour in reaching the place, 
though the distance is not more apparently than a mile and a half by 
the circuitous road, and in a straight line only a few hundred yards from 

the springs The ruins consist of the lower parts of a wall which 

encompassed a long narrow hill that is difficult of access. These walls 
are of the fourth style of military architecture, composed of large blocks. 
Their general thickness is seven feet. In some parts they are composed 
of small stones and mortar, where their thickness is more considerable. 
The walls are carried up to the very edge of the precipices which rise 
above the pass to the north of the hot springs. Contiguous to the 
ridge on which the walls stand, and on the north side, is a small plain 
wbere there are a few imperfect traces, and a spring of excellent water. 
We enjoyed a view from this spot where the beauty of the scenery was 
illuminated by many reflections from the lustre of the classic page. 
Below us, towards the south, were the thermal springs, and the ever- 
memorable pass. In the middle of the gulph was the north-west 
extremity of Eubcea. The rich and even plain of Melis was dotted with 
villages, adorned with trees, and improved by cultivation. It is inter- 
sected by the Asopos and the Spercheios, that pursue their devious 
course through the Trachiniau rocks, which environ the plain." Dod- 
well's Classical Tour through Greece. Vol. ii. pp. 65 - 73. 

Page 5o6. 

Leaving- Artemisium, retired to Chalets to defend the Euripus.] The 
very neck of the strait between Eubcea and Bceotia, where a small force 
might prohibit the advance of the most numerous fleet. The import- 
ance of this passage resulted almost entirely from the dangers that 
were apprehended in coasting the eastern shores of the island : see 
page 587. 

Page 558. 

5,283,220 men.] These numbers have been thought by most modern 
writers to surpass credibility : and it is certain that a considerable de- 

3 B 



738 NOTES ON 

duction may be made from them without impeaching the accuracy of 
Herodotus. I have considered this question in the Process of Historical 
Proof, p. 61, and Note. 

Page 569. 

The Pylagors of the Amphictyons.~] The Amphictyonic council, or 
states-general of Greece, was composed of deputies from every city of 
the Union — two, sometimes more, from each: of these two, one was 
named — Hieromnemon, being charged with matters of religion; the 
other — Pylagor, and had no peculiar function. The former was chosen 
by lot ; the latter by vote. 

Page 615. 

Bacis tints speaking.] There were many soothsayers of this name. 
The predictions attributed to them, and which in the time of Herodotus 
were orally current in Greece, had no doubt been manufactured or mo- 
dified soon after the Persian invasion by those who made divination 
their trade. It is evident that even in our author's time there were 
many who knew too much of this trade to give any faith to such oracular 
verses. 

Page 658 
The furthest point of European ground towards the west.'] The reader 
on inspecting the map of Greece will be perplexed by this assertion ; for 
the Persians were considerably further towards the west when in Thes- 
saly and Phocis, than vvhen they penetrated to the territory of Megara. 
But the ancients referred to the bearings of places with much less 
accuracy than is usual among the moderns ; and in the present instance, 
as the general course of the invaders was from east to west, Hero- 
dotus speaks of the furthest point of that course as if it were in fact the 
furthest westward. 

Page 662. 

When they reached Erythrce in Bceotia.] Erythrse was situated on the 
heights of the ridge which divides Attica from Boeotia, and which to- 
wards the west was called Citheeron, towards the east Parnes. On 
ascending this ridge, the Persian host — encamped beyond the Asopos, 
would be seen by the Greeks : the direct distance across the valley is 
not more than five miles. The wooden fort on the margin of the river, 
and which presented a front one mile in length, must have been con- 
spicuous from the heights of Mount Cithaeron. 

Page 664. 

They determined to descend towards Plataa.] Plataea stands in the nar- 
row part of the valley, and near the source of the Asopos. In the vicinity 
of that city the Greeks were near the stream, and yet on the side of the 
mountain where they were out of the reach of the Persian cavalry. 

Page 685. 

The Tcgcans first standing up.] While waiting in the presence of the 
enemy for the command to fight, the Greeks were accustomed to couch 



PARTICULAR PASSAGES. 739 

on the ground, under shelter of their shields ; see the account of the 
death of Callicrates, p. 690 : in modern warfare the troops under 
similar circumstances lay extended to avoid the enemy's fire. 

Page 686. 

According to the prediction of the oracle.~\ Probably that mentioned 
above, pp. 634-635. 

Page 696. 

The youths who had held command.'] tovq ipevag. This phrase has 
perplexed translators — a corruption of the text probably exists. I adopt 
the correction which seems the most plausible. 

Page 714. 

A territory of small extent and rugged.] This description is applied 
with great propriety to the mountainous country which runs parallel to 
the course of the Euphrates and Tigris, and separates the once fertile 
plains of Chaldea from the great salt deserts of central Persia. Upon 
these arid high lands were reared the warriors, who, by a series of 
rapid conquests, made the whole of Western Asia tributary to Cyrus and 
his successors, and kept them so until the progress of luxurious habits 
rendered the empire of Asia an easy prey to the Macedonians. 



3 b 2 



INDEX. 



Aba, and Abas, a city of Phocis, where 
was an oracle of Apollo, 19, 593, 

595, 643 
Abantes, ancient inhabitants of Eu- 

boea, 70 
Abaris, the Hyperborean, 281 
Abdera, a city of Thrace, 79, 428, 520, 

525, 637 
Abrocomes and Hyperanthes, sons of 

Darias, 574 
Abronychus, a spy in the service of 

Leonidas, 590 
Absinthians, a people of the Euxine, 

423 
Abydos, a city of the Hellespont, 406, 

throne of Xerxes at, 496, bridge at, 

491, 553 
Acanthus, a town near Mount Athos, 

427, 522. Gulph of, 486 
Acarnania, 108, 573 
Acbatana, see Egbatana 
Aceratus, a priest at Delphi, 597 
Aces, a river of Asia, 244 
Acbaeans, a people of Peloponnesus, 

70, 612 
, of Phthiotis, 528, 562. 

Achaean Ceres, 377 
Achaemenes, son of Darius, 191, 474, 

514, 579 

, father of Teispes, 481 

Achaemenidian, royal family of Persia, 

61, 220 
Achaia, district of Peloponnesus, 

596 

or Phthiotis in Thessaly, 552 

Achelous, a river of Acarnania, 108, 

525 
Acheron, a river of Thesprotia in 

Epirus, 395, 601 
Achillea, 396 

Achilles, race course of, 290, 297 
Acracphia, a town of Bceotia, 644 
Acrisius, father of Danae, 432 
Acropolis, citadel of Athens, taken 

by the Persians, 602 
Acrothoon, a town on the summit of 

Mount Athos, 487 
Adicran, a Libyan king, 332 
Adimantus, father of Aristeas, 531 
general of the Corinthians, 

581, 605, 622 

3 i 



Adrastus, son of Gordins, 15 — 18 

• , king of Sicyon, 380 

Adria (the Adriatic sea) 77, 280; 



people of Libya, 



352 

Adyrmachides, 

336 

iEa of Colchis, 2, 561, 563 
iEaces, father of Polycrates, 207, 

257 
^Eaces, tyrant of Samos, 414, 415, the 

iEacides, {statues of) 386, 607 
iEacus, ancestor of Miltiades, 389, 

423 
-<Ega, a city ofPallene, 524. iEgae, a 

city of Achaia, 70 
iEgaea, a city of ./Eolia, 71 
iEgaean sea, 302 
jEgaleos, Mount, in Attica, 621 
.ffigeus, an Athenian, 82 

, ancestor of the iEgidae, 327 

iEgialian Pelasgians, 513 
iEgialians, a tribe of Sicyonia, 381 
iEgicores, son of Ion, 379 
iEgida;, a Spartan tribe, 327 
iEgila, or Angila, a region of Libya, 

337, 340 
iEgilia, an island of the ^Egaean sea, 

454 

■ — , near Eretria, 451 

iEgina and Thebe, daughters of Aso- 

pns, 385 
jEgina, an island off the coast of 

Attica, 599, N 600 
iEginetans, 216, animosity towards the 

Athenians, 386—389. 429, 439, 

444, 536. At Salamis, 600, 622, 

637. At Platasa, 668, 693, 696 
iEgium, a city of Achaia, 70 
./Egia, a city of Achaia, 70 
iEgircessa, a city of iEolia, 71 
Mgis, of Minerva, 339 
iEglians, a people of Asia, 236 
iEgos Potamos, a town and river of 

Chersonesus, 713 
.(Egypt, see the 2d Book throughout. 

Measurement, 106: deposited by the 

river, 108, see Nile. Animals of, 

131. Productions, 141. History, 

early, 143, middle, 167, later, 176. 

Conquest of, by Cainbyses, 186. 

A Persian government, 236. 

3 



742 



INDEX. 



^Egyptians, antiquity of, 104. Man- 
ners and superstitions, 119 — 131, 
usages, 135 ; arms, 66, 339, 512 : 
defection, 471, 475. Services in the 
Grecian war, 488,512, 589 
iEimnestus a Spartan, 686 
yEnisedemus — 542, 547 
iEnia, a town of Macedonia, 524 
iEnus, a city of Thrace, 304, 503 
iEnyra, a district of Thrace, 429 
iEolia, a region of Asia Minor, re- 
duced by Croesus, 4, 71, 72 
-iEolians, ancient people of Greece, 
513 : of Asia, 68, 104, 235, 408, 
712: 596 
^Eolus, 562 
iEorpata, or Oiorpata, Scythian name 

of the Amazons, 311 
Aeropus, brother of Ferdiccas, 645, 
646 

, father of Echemus, 665 

iEsanius, father of Grinus, 328 
iEsehines, an Euboean, 451 
iEscbreas, father of Lycomedes, 586 
.iEsclirionians, a tribe in Samos, 199 
iEschylus, the poet, 173 
JEsop, the fabulist, 161 
^Ethiopia, 243 

^Ethiopians, 116 ; practised circum- 
cision, 145 : 196. Long-lived, 198, 
237— Troglodyte, 341. Ethiopians 
in the army of Xerxes, 506 
jEtolia, a country of Greece, 463 
Africa, see Libya 
Agasus, an Elian, 464 
Agamemnon, 29, 544 
Agarista, daughter of Clisthenes, 463 
Agarista, mother of Pericles, 465 
Agasicles of Halicarnassus, 70 
Agathyrses, a Scythian people, 288. 

309 
Agathyrsus, son of Hercules, 272 
Agbal, father of Merbal, 514 
Agbatana, see Ecbatana, a -city of Me- 
dia, 48, 53, 73 
Agbatana, a city of Syria, 219 
Agenor, 512 
Agesilaus, son of Doryssus, 565. — Son 

of Hippocratides, 642 
Agetus, son of Alcides, 435 
Agis, father of Menares, 436 
Aglauios, daughter of Cecrops, 603 
Agloinachus, of Cyrene, 335 
Agora, a town of Thrace, 502 
Agrianis, a river of Thrace, 304 
Agrigentines, a people of Italy, 547. 

550 
Agron, a king of Sardis, 4 
Agyllanians, a people of Italy, 79 
Ajax,423.— Son of Telamon, 379, 607, 

637 
Alahanda, a city of Phrygia, 645 
Alabandians, a people of Caria, 562 
Alalia, a city of Corsica, 79 
Alarodians, a people of Pontus, 237 
Alazir, a king of Barca, 335 
Alazones, a Scythian nation, 275, 
289 



Alcseus, son of Hercules, 4. — A poet, 

396 
Alcamenes, son of Telicles, 565 
Alcetes, father of Amyntas, 646 
Alcibiades, father of Clineas, 589 
Alcides, father of Agetus, 435 
Alcimachus, father of Euphorbus, 452 
Alcinor and Chromius, 37 
Alcmaeon of Athens, father of Mega- 

cles, 24 

, son of Megacles, 462 

AlcEeinonids, the, 26, 379, 381, 377, 

458, 461, 465 
Alcmena, mother of Hercules, 123, 

167 
Alcon, a Molossian, 464 
Aleades, or Cleades, 696 
Aleium, or Aleum, a plain of Cilicia, 

449 
Aleuads, Thessalian chiefs, 474, 551, 

see 6S3 
Alexander, or Paris, 2. 149 — 153 
^Alexander, king of Macedonia, 357, 

552, 644, 650, 676 
Alilat, Arabian Urania, 189. Alitta, 

64 
Alopece, village of Attica, 378 
Alpenus, a town near Thermopylas, 

554, 576 
Alpheus, and Maron, 575 
Alpis, a river falling into the Ister, 

288 
Alus, a city of Thessaly, 552, 562 
Alyattes, king of Sardis, 3, 7, 8, 10, 

33, his sepulchre, 45 
Amasis, king of Egypt, 12, 35, 176— 

187; 190,194,207,210 

, a Persian general, 336, 348 

Amathus, a city of Cyprus, 401 — ; 

405 
Amazons in Scythia, 311 — 313 
Amestris, wife of Xerxes, 504, 521, 

709 
Amiantus, 463 

Amilcar, king of Carthage, 547 
Aminias, an Athenian captain, 618, 

622 
Aminocles of Sepias, 560 
Amitres, or Ithamitres, a Persian ge- 
neral, 641 
Ammon, a Libyan oracle, 19, 117, see 

128 
Ammonians, a Libyan people, 123, 199, 

340. Ammonn, a name of Jupiter, 

123 
Amompharetus, a Spartan officer, 681 

—696 
Amorges, a Persian general, 407 
Ampe, a city on the coast of the Red 

Sea, 417 
Ampelus, a promontory of Torone, 

524 
Amphiaraus, his oracular temple at 

Thebes, 19, 20, 21, 644 
, father of Amphilochus, 

236 
Amphicasa, a city of Phocis, 595 
Amphicrates, king of Samos, 216 



INDEX. 



743 



Amphietyons, scat and council of, 184, 

377, 564, 569, 576 
Amphilochus and Calchas, 236, 512 
Araphilytus, a seer, 26 
Ainphimnestus, of Epidaranus, 463 
Amphion, of Corinth, 392 
Ainphissa, a city of the Locrians, 

595 
Amphitryon, father of Hercules, 123, 

376, 432 
Ampracia, or Ambracia, a city of Epi- 

rus, 601, 668 
Arayntas, king of Macedonia, 356, 358, 

396, 552, 644, 646 

, son of Bubares, 644 

Amyrgian Scythians, 505 
Amyris, called the sage, 463 
Amyrtaeus king of Egypt, 104, 194 
Aniytheon, father of Melainpus, 126 
Anacharsis, the Scythian sage, 287, 

297, 298 
Anacreon, the poet, 247 
Arittctorians, ot'Epirns, 668 
Anaphes, a Persian general, 504 
Anaphlystus, a village of Attica, 308 
Anana, a city of Phrygia, 489 
Anaxander, ancestor of Leonidas, 565 
Anaxandrides, king of Sparta, 29, 367, 

565 
, father of Theopompus, 

642 
Anaxilaus, son of Archidamns, 642 
, tyrant of Rhegiura, 418, 

547 
Anchimolins, a Spartan, 377 
Andericca, see Ardericca 
Andreas, father of Myron, 463 
Androbulus, father of Timon, 533 
Audrocrates, a hero, 664 
Androdamas, father of Theomestor, 

618, 699 
Andromeda, wife of Perseus, 504, 

540 
Androphages (cannibals), 276, 309, 

310, 314, 317 
Androsphinges, 181 
Andros, one of the Cyclades, 280, 

363 
Andrians, 632 
Anenistus, father of Sperthies,529. — 

Son of Sperthies, 531 
Angites, a river tributary to the Stry- 

nion, 521 
Angrus, a river of Illyria, 288 
Anopaea, a mountain path at Ther- 
mopylae, 570 
Antacasus, a fish, 289 
Antagoras, of Coos, 6[)2 
Antandrus, a city of Troas, 360, 496 
Authela, a city near Thermopylae, 554, 

564 
Anthemus, a city of Macedonia, 336 
Antliylla, a city of Egypt, 143 
Antichares, an Elian, 396 
Anticyra, a city of Thessaly, 563, 569 
Antidorus, a Lemnian, 587 
Antiochus, father of Tisauienes, 670 
Antipater, a Thasian, 522 

3 B 



Antiphemus, general of the Lindians. 

541 
Anysis, king of Egypt, 163 

, a city of Egypt, 163, 178 

Anysus, father of Tetramneslus, 514 
Aparytes, a people of Asia, 236 
Apaturian festival, 71 
Aphetas, a port of Magnesia, 561, 583, 

584 
Aphidna, a town of Attica, 456, 

690 
Aphrodisias, an island on the coast of 

Libya, 336 
Aphthis, a district in Egypt, 178 
Aphytis, a city of Pallene, 524 
Apia, a Scythian divinity, 291 
Apidanus, a river of Thessaly, 525, 

562. 
Apis, an Egyptian god, 172, 200, see 

201 3V • 

Apollo,the Egyptian Orus, 173; 137; 

fountain sacred to, 332 ; image of, 

31, 275, Scythian, 291, Triopian,70: 

Ismenian, 22, 44, 643 : Reply to 

Croesus, 43, flayed Silenus, 488. 

Temple of, 595. Ptous, 644. see 

Delphi. 
Apollonia on the Euxine, 304 

— on the Ionian gulph, 700 

Apollophanes, father of Bisaltes, 420 
Apries, king of Egypt, 176—179. 

332 
Apsinthians, or Absinthians, a people 

of Thrace, 423. 713 
Apulia, or Japygia. Japyges, 308 
Aqueduct, in Samos, 216 
Arabia, soil of, 109, description of, 

241, productions, 243, geography, 

283 
Arabians, usages, 96, 190, Indepen- 
dence, 234, 236 : offering, 238, in 

the armv of Xerxes, 506 — 511. 
Arabian gulph, 108,283 
Aradus, an island near Tyre, 514 
Araras, a river of Scythia, 287 
Araxes, a river of Scythia, 97, 98, 

205, 283 
Arcadians, 28, 70, 180, 372, 440, at 

Thermopylae, 504. 592 
Areesilaus, king of Barca, 333 

— , son of Battus, 334 

Archander, son of Achaeus, 143. — City 

of Egypt, 143 
Archelaeans, a tribe of Sicyon,38l 
Archelaus, of Sparta, 565 
Archestratidas, a Samian, 699 
Archias, a Spartan, 214, — a Samian, 

214 
Archidamus, of Sparta, 642 
Archidice, a courtezan, 162 
Archilochus, a Parian poet, 5 
Ardericca, a town of Assyria, 88 
Ardys, king of Sardis, 6 
Areopagus, (Mars' hill), 602 
Argadas, son of Ion, 379 
Argaeus, king of Macedonia, 646 
Aigant'nonius, king of Tartessus, 77. 

78 



714 



INDEX. 



Arge a:id Opis, Hyperboraran virgins, 
281 

Argia, wife of Aristodemas, 430 

Argilas, a city of Bisaltia, 521 

Argiopiuin, a place near the Asopns, 
682 

Argippaeans, a people bordering on 
Scythia, 277 

Argives, people of Peloponnesus, 1, 
28, 37, 252, 388. War with Cle- 
omenes, 441; 447; 666. 671: con- 
duct in the Persian war, 538 — 540 ; 
657 

Argo, the ship of Jason, 338, 561 

Argolis, county of Peloponnesus, 37 

Argonauts, companions of Jason, 326 

Argos, city of Peloponnesus, 1, 3, 443. 
539 

Argus, a hero, 442 

Ariabignes, son of Darius, 514,620 

Ariantas, a Scythian king, 301 

Ariapithes, a Scythian king, 298 

Ariamnes, a Persian, 621 

Aridolis, tyrant of Alabanda, 562 

Arians, a people of Asia, 237; an- 
cient name of the Medes, 504, 505. 

Arimaspians, Arimaspous, a people of 
northern Europe, 244, 2? 3, 278 

Arimnestus, a Plataean, 690 

Ariomardus, general of the Caspians, 
505 

, son of Darius, 508 

Arion, a poet, 9 

Ariphron, father of Xantippus, 465, 
467, 490, 642 

Aiisba, a city of Lemnos, 72 

Aristagoras, tyrant of Cyme, 323, 366, 
367 

, of Cyzicns, 323 

, tyrant of Miletus, and au- 
thor of the Ionian revolt: 361, to 
408 

, father of Hegesistratus, 

699 

Aristeas, a poet of Proconnesus, 273 — 
275 

, a Corinthian, 531 

Aristides, the Just, an Athenian, 616 — 
623 : 668 

Aristocrates, father of Casambus, 439 

Aristocyprus, king of Solias, 405 

Aristodemus, king of Sparta, 326, 430, 
565, 642 

, a Spartan, 576, 689 

Aristodicus, of Cyme, 75 

Aristogiton and Harmodius, 375, 456, 
462 

Aristolaides, an Athenian, 24 

Aristomachus, father of Aristodemus, 
430, 565, 642 

Ariston of Byzantium, 323 

— ; , king of Sparta, 29, 434—437 

Aristonice, the Pythian, 533 

Aristonymus of Sicyon, 463 

Aristophantus, father of Cobon, 436 

Aristophilides, king of Tarentum, 255 

Arizantians, a Median tribe, 49 

Arizus, a Persian prince, 509 



Armenians, 94, 372, in the array of 

Xerxes, 507 
Armenius, Mount, 32 
Arpoxais, ancestor of the Scythians, 

270 
Arsamenes, son of Darius, 506 
Arsames, grandfather of Darius, 100, 

481, 574 
Arsanes, son of Darius, 506 
Artabanus, uncle of Xerxes, 301, 478 — 

485: 496 — 500; his sons, 505, 

508 
Artabates, a Persian, 505 
Artabazanes, eldest son of Darius, 

472 
Arlabazus, a Persian general, 505, 

639—641 : 674, 686, 697 
Artace, a city of the Propontis, 274, 

423 
Artachaees, a Persian general, 486, 

522 
, father of Otaspes, 505. — 

father of Artayntes, 641 
Artasans, ancient name of the Persians, 

504 
Artaeus, father of Artachaees, 486 — 

father of Azanes, 505 
Artanes, brother of Darius, 574 

, a river of Thrace, 288 

Artaphernes, brother of Darius, 360, 

363 ; 382 ; 399, 409 
, son of Artaphernes, Per- 
sian general at Marathon, 449 — 460 ; 

478, in the army of Xerxes, 507 

rtaxerxes, son and successor of 

Xerxes, 450; 519 
Artayctes, a Persian general, 508; 

712—714 
Artaynte, niece of Xerxes, 708 
Artayntes, a Persian admiral, 641, 

705—708 
Artazostra, daughter of Darius, 427 
Artenibares, a Mede, 55 

, a Persian, 714 

Artemisia, queen of Halicarnassus, 

514 ; 610 ; 622 ; 627 
Artemisium, a port of Euboea, 553, 

562. — Engagements at, 585 — 589 
Artimpasa, Scythian Venus, 291 
Artiscus, a Scythian river, 304 
Artochraes, son-in-law of Darius, 507 
Artontes, father of Bagaeus, 250 

, son of .Mardonius, 696 

Artybius, a Persian commander, 403 
Artyntes, a Persian general, 506 
Artyphius, brother of Ariomardus, 

505 
Arty stone, daughter of Cyrus, 234, 

506 
Aryandes, prefect of Egypt, 335, 346 
Aryenis, daughter of Alyattes, 33 
Asbystes, a Libyan people, 337 
Ascalon, a city of Palestine, 50 
Aschy, a liquor, 277 
Asia, wife of Prometheus, 286 
Asia, upper, 64: subdued, 46 ; 49; 

51, 64. Geography of, 282—285. 

Nations of 372; 234 and 504 



INDEX. 



745 



Asia Minor, or the Lower Asia, 11, 

32 
Asian tribe at Sardis,2S6 
Asias, son of Cotys, 286 
Asina, a city of Peloponnesus, 613 
Asmach, an Egyptian word, 116 
Asonides, a captain of iEgina, 556 
Asopians, a people of Boeotia, 658 
Asopodoras, a Theban commander, 

688 • 
Asopus, a river of Boeotia, 455, 564, 

5T0, 659, 679 
Aspathines, a Persian prince, 223 — 

228,514 
Asphaltus, bitumen of Babylon, 85, 

460 
Assa, a city of Mount Athos, 524 
Assesus, a town of the Milesians, 7: 

Assessian Minerva, 8 
Assyria, 84, 93, 111,283 
Assyrians, 46, 49,51,84 ; in the army 

of Xerxes,. r )04 
Astacus, father of Melanippus, 380 
Aster, father of Anchimolius, 377 
Astrabacus, a hero of Sparta, 438 
Astyages, king of the Medes, 19, 32 ; 

see 51 — 64 
Asychis, king of Egypt, 162 
Atarantes, a Libyan people, 341 
Atarbechis.acity of Egypt, 122 
Atarneus, or Atarnea, a city and terri- 
tory of Mysia, 76, 410, 420, 495 
Atarnes, a river of Thrace, 288 
Alhamas, son of iEolus, 562 
Athenades, a Trachinian, 569 
Athenagoras, a Samian, 698 
Athens, taken by Cleomenes, 378 ; 
taken by Xerxes, 602 ; by Mar- 
donius, 653, and utterly destroyed, 
658 
Athenians, history of, 24— 27, 600. 69: 
183: 252: 381—384. War with 
jEgina, 385 — 390. Spartan con- 
spiracy against them, 390. Their 
expedition against Sardis, 397 — 400. 
Sympathy with Miletus, 417. Mil- 
tiades and Pisistratus, 423. Persian 
expedition against them, 427. Re- 
tain the hostages of JEgina, 444 — 
448. Second Persian expedition 
against Athens, 449 — battle of Ma- 
rathon, 458 — 460. Alcmaeonids, 
461. Attack Paros under Miltiades, 
466; condemn Miltiades, 468: their 
treatment of the Persian heralds, 
528. Their importance in the Per- 
sian war, 522. Application to Del- 
phi, 533. Peace with ./Egina, 536. 
Their deputation to Sicily, 545. Ex- 
pedition to Tempe, 552. Their fleet 
at Artemisium, 582 : ' behaviour 
there, 589. Occupation of Salamis, 
598. Behaviour of those who held 
the Acropolis, 602. Conduct at 
Salamis, 618 — 623. Mission of 
Alexander, 644 — 651. Treatment of 
Lycidas, 653. Message to Sparta, 



654. Behaviour in Boeotia, 663. 

Dispute with the Tegeans, 665—667. 

Conduct at Plataea. 677—690. Con- 
duct at Mycale, 705. Besiege Ses- 

tus, 711 
Athos, Mount, 428, 449: canal at, 486 ; 

524 
Athribis, a district in Egypt, 178 
Athrys, a' river of Thrace, 288 ' 
Atlantes, or Atarantes, a people of 

Libya, 341 
Atlantic sea, 97 - 
Atlas, a river of Mount Haemus, 

288 

, Mount, 341 

Atossa, daughter of Cyrus, 222, 234 ; 

253 : 473 
Atramytteuin, or Adramyttium, a 

town of Troas, 496 
Atrides, the sons of Atreus, 485 
Attaginus, a Theban, 659, 696 
Attica, 384, 386; first invaded by the 

Persians, 452 : the second time, 

602 ; ravaged, 658 
Attic people, 23, 127. Attic women, 

389 
Atys, king of Sardis, 4, 45, 507 

, son of Croesus, 15 — 18 

Auchates, a family of Scythians, 270 
Angila, a country of Libya, 337 
Auras, a river of Mount Haemus, 

288 
Auschises, a people of Libya, 337 
Auses, a people of Libya, 339, 343 
Autesion, father of Theras, 326, 430 
Autodicus, a Platsean, 696 
Automolians, a colony of Egyptians, 

116 
Autonous, and Phylacus, 597 
Auxesia and Damia, 386 
Axius, a river of Macedonia, 525 
Axus, a city of Crete, 329 
Azanes, a Persian general, 505 
Azen, Azania, in Arcadia, 463 
Aziris, a district in Libya, 331, 337 
Azotus, a city of Syria, 174 

Babylon, 73, description, 84 — 89: 
taken by Cyrus, 90—92. Capture 
by Darius, 263—267. Its tribute, 
236 

Babylonia, 92, 236 

Babylonians, their usages and man- 
ners, 94 — 96. Revolt from Darius, 
262. Their learning, 147 

Babylonian talent, 235 

Bacchus, Egyptian Osiris, 126, 166, 
173. The Arabian, 189; 242. The 
Ethiopian, 237: the Grecian, 299, 
310, 380 

, temple of, at Byzantium, 

303 ; oracle of, 521 : hymn to, 608 

Bacchanalia, 299 

Bacchiads of Corinth, 392 

Bacis, the predictions of, 590, 615, 
623, 675 

Bactra, a city of Assyria, 412 



746 



INDEX. 



Bactria, a country of Asia, 348 

Bactrians, 73, 236; in the army of 
Xerxes, 505, 511 : 711 

Badres, a Persian admiral, 336, or 
Bares, 348 

Bagaeus, a Persian, 250. — Father of 
Mardontes, 509 

Bagasaces, or Bassaces, a Persian 
general, 508 

Barbarians, compared with the Greeks, 
25; conduct beiitting them, 693, 
mode of fighting, 684 

Barca, a city of Libya, 236, its his- 
tory, 325—349 

, of Bactria, 348 

Bares, a Persian, see Badres 

Basilides, an Ionian, 643 

Battus, king of Cyrene, 328—332 

, the fortunate, 332 : — son of 

Arcesilaus, 333—335 

Battiads, family and adherents of Bat- 
tus, 348 

Becos, Phrygian word, 105 

Belides, gates of Babylon, 265 

Belus, father of Ninus, 4.— Father of 
Cepheus, 504 

Bermion, a mountain of Macedonia, 
646 

Bessians, interpreters of Bacchus, 521 

Bias, a sage of Priene, 11, 80 

Bisaltes, son of Apollophanes, 420 

Bisaltia, a region of Macedonia, 521, 
635 

Bisantha, a city of the Hellespont, 

Bistones, a people of Thrace, 520 

Bistonis, a lake, 520 

Bithynia, a province of Asia Minor, 

11 ; Bithynians, 508 
Biton, and Cleobis, Argives, 13 
Boebeis, a lake of Thessaly, 527 
Boeotia, 126, 375, 597 
Boeotians, 375, 383 : Thespian, 564 ; 

take part with the Medes, 596 ; con- 
duct at Plataea, 687 
Boeotian Buskin, 94 
Boges, a Persian governor of Ei'on, 

519, 521 
Bolbitic month of the Nile, 111 
Boreas, son-in-law of the Athenians, 

559 
Borysthenes, a river of Scythia, 276, 

287,289 
Borysthenians, 276, 290, 298, 299 
Bosphorus, the Cimmerian, 273, 278, 

308 

; , the Thracian, 301, 302 

Bottiaea, a region of Macedonia, 525. 

526, 557, 640 
Branchidae, Branchus, 19, oracle of, 

43, 75, see Didymus, 416 
Brauron, a town of Attica, 325, 469 
Briantica, a region of Thrace, 520 
Briges, Phrygians, 507 
Brongus, a river tributary to the 

Ister, 288 
Brnndusium, a city of Italy, 308 



Bryges, a people of Thrace, 428, 

557 
Bubares, a Persian, 358, 486, 644 
Bubastis, a city of Egypt, 129, 163, 

156 
, the Egyptian Diana, 163, 

156 
Bucolic, mouth of the Nile, 111 
Budians, a people of Media, 49 

, of Scythia, 276, 310 

Bulis, a Spartan, 529—531 
Bura, a city of Achaia, 70 
Busaeans, a people of Media, 49 
Busiris, a city and district of Egypt, 

129, 130, 177 
Butacides, father of Philip of Crotona, 

370 
Buto, Butos, a city of Egypt, 129, 

130, 173 
Bybassia, a peninsular of Caria, 83 
Byblos, or, Papyrus, 140; 376; 487, 

492 
Byzantium, 325, 360, 400 

Cabales, a people of Libya, 337 
Cabalians, a people of Asia Minor , 

235 
Cabalensian Meonians, 508 
Cabiri, their orgies, 127, 206 
Cadmean letters, 376 
Cadmeans, of Peloponnesus, 70 ; ex- 
pelled by Argives, 375 ; 377: 666 
Cadmus, son of Agenor, 126, 327, 
376 

, of Coos, 546 

Cadytis, a city of Palestine, (Jeru- 
salem,) 175, 188 ; see Note 
Caenis, ancestor of Eetion, 392 
Caicus, a river — and plain of Mysia, 

420, 495 
Calacte, a spot on the coast of Sicily, 

418 
Calamus, in Samos, 701 
Calantian Indians, 237. Callatian, 

206 
Calasiries, Egyptian warriors, 177, 670 
Calchas and Amphilochus, 512 
Calchedon, or Chalcedon, 302, 325, 

360, 422 
Callatebus, a city of Lydia, 490 
Calliades, an Athenian archon, 602 
Callias, an Elian diviner, 369 

, an Athenian, 461 

— ■ , son of Hipponicus, 540 

Callicrates, a Spartan, 690, 696 
Callimachus, the Polemaroh, 456, 458 
Callipides, an ultra-Scythian people, 

275 
Callipolis, a city of Sicily, 542 
Callista, afterwards Thera, 327 
Calydne, a city of Asia Minor, 514 
Calyndian mountains, 82. Calyndiaus, 

a people of Caria, 619 
Camarina, a cit}' of Sicily, 542 
Cambyses, father of Cyrus, 19, 52, 54, 

99, 481 
, son of Cyrus, 100; his ac- 



INDEX. 



?47 



cession, 104 ; bis invasion of Egypt, 

and conduct there, 186—206: his 

death, 217—221. Incidental re- 
ferences, 234, 257, 335 
Camels, 36, 239; 511; 525 
Camicus, a city of Sicily, 550 
Camirus, a Dorian city, 70 
Campsa, a city of Crossaea, 524 
Cana, Mount, in Mysia, 495 
Canals of leather, 190 
Canastraeus, promontory of Pallene, 

524 
Candaules, king of Sardis, 4 — 6 

, father of Damisithmus, 514 

Canobic, mouth of the Nile, 110, 111, 

149, 183 
Canobus, a city of Egypt, 143 
Capbareuni, promontory of Euboea, 

585 
Cappadocia, 32. Cappadocians, 32, 

372, 507 
Car, brother of Lydus and Mysus, 81 
Carcinitis.acity of Scythia, 29a, 308 
Cardamyle, a town of Laconia, 613 
Cardia, a city of the Chersonese, 423, 

502, 712 
Carenus, father of Evaenetus, 552 
Caria, 69, subdued by the Persians, 

419. Carians, subdued by Croesus, 

11 ; see 81 : subdued by Harpagus, 

82: their revolt, 406: in the fleet 

of Xerxes, 513. In Egypt, 130, 

171,190 
Carina, a city of Mysia, 495 
Carpathus, an island near Rhodes, 

209 
Carpis, a river tributary to the Ister, 

288 
Carthage, 196, 548 
Carthaginians, 195, 344 ; defeated in 

Sicily, 548 
Carystus, a city of Euboea, 280. Ca- 

rystians, 280, 451, 633, 637, 706 
Casambus, of TEgina, 439 
Cassia, Arabian spice, 242 
Casius, Mount, in Arabia, 107, 174, 

188 
Casmena, a city of Sicily, 542 
Caspatyrus, a city of Pactyica, 239, 

285 
Caspian sea, 97, 283 
Caspians, 236, in the army of Xerxes, 

505, 511 
Cassandane, wife of Cyrus, 104, 187 
Cassiterides, western islands, (Scilly) 

243 
Castalian spring on Parnassus, 597 
Casthanaea, a city of Magnesia, 557 
Castor and Pollux (the Tyndaridae, or 

Dioscuri) 123, 463 
Catarracta, a river tributary to the 

Maeander, 488 
Catiarians, a Scythian tribe, 270 
Caucasus, Mount, 50, 97, 238, 273 - 
Cauconian Pylkins, 71, 327 
Caunus, a city of Caria, 84, 400 
Caustrobius, father of Aristeas, 273 
Cayster, a river of Lydia, 399 



Cecrops, king of Athens, 600 
Celaene, a city of Phrygia, 488 
Celeas, an associate of Dorieus, 370 
Celts, a people of Europe, 118, 288 
Ceos, an island of the TEgaean sea, 

281, Ceians, 400, 582, 600, 614 
Cephellenia, an island of the Ionian 

sea, 668 
Cephenes, Persians, 504 
Cepheus, father of Andromeda, 504, 

540 
Cephissus, father of Thyia, 555 

■ — , a river of Phocis, 595 

Ceramic gulph, 83 

Cercasora, a city of Egypt, 110, 143 

Ceres, the Egyptian Isis, 129, 156, 

173., 290, 377; rites of (Thesmopho- 

ria) 416: Eleusinian, 608; temple 

of, 685, 702, 704 
Chalcedonians, or Calchedonians, 325, 

360 
Chalcidians, of Euboea, 383, 384, 399, 

557, 640, 667 
Chaldaeans, of Babylon, 88, 87. In 

the army of Xerxes, 505 
Chalestra, a city of Macedonia, 525 
Chalybians, of Asia Minor, 11 
Champsa, the crocodile, 133 
Charadra, a city of Phocis, 595 
Charaxus, brother of Sappho, 162 
Charilaus, of Samos, 260 
Charillus, son of Eunomus, 642 
Charopinus, brother of Aristagoras, 

399 
Cheramis, a floating island in Egypt 

173 

, a city of Egypt, 139, 177 

Cheops, an Egyptian king, 157 
Chephren, an Egyptian king, 159 
Cherasmes, a Persian, 508 
Chersis, father of Gorgus, 514, 586 
Chersonese of Thrace, 308, held by 

Miltiades, 423 — 425; 470; 490, 

713 
Chilaus, a Tegean, 656 
Chilon, a Lacedaemonian sage, 24, 436, 

578 
. Chius, a city of Ionia, 7, 69, 76, 183, 

422, 643 
Choaspes, a river near Susa, 90, 372, 

374 
Chosnix (quart) 558 
Chosreates, a tribe at Sicyon, 380 
Choreas, a city of Euboea, 451 
Choerus, father of Micythus, 550 
Chorasraians, a people of Asia, 237, 

244, in the army of Xerxes, 505 
Chromius, an Argive, 37 
Ciconians, a Thracian people, 503, 

520 
Cilicia, Ciliciacs, 11, 33, 118, 372, 373; 

in the fleet of Xerxes, 512, 588; 

708 
Cilix, a Phoenician, 512 
Cilia, an /Eolian city, 71 
Cimmeria, Cimmerian Bosphorus, 273, 

278, 308 
Cimmerians, 4, 7, 269, 272 



748 



INDEX. 



Cimon, father of Miltiades, 423, 452, 

—son of Miltiades, 468, 519 
Cineas, king of Thessaly, 378 
Cinnamon (spice) 242 
Cinyps, a river of Libya, 338 : — a re- 
gion, 345, 369 
Cion, a city of Mysia, 407 
Circumcision practised by the Egyp- 
tians, &c. 120, 145 
Cissia, 236, 372, 374, 460 :— Cissians, 

504, 510, 568 
Cissian gate of Babylon, 265 
Cithseron, Mount, 534, 662, 664, 673 
Cius, or Scius, a river .tributary to the 

Ister, 288 
Clazomenae, an Ionian city, 7, 21, 69, 

183, 408 
Cleades, a Plataean, 696 
Cleander, a seer, 443. — Son of Pan- 
tares, 541. — Son of Hippocrates, 
542 
Cleobis and Biton, 13 
Cleodaeus, son of Hyllus, 430, 565, 

642 
Cleombrotus, son of Anaxandrides, 

300, 368, 612, 656 
Cleomenes, king of Sparta, 262; see 
367 ; 372 : takes possession of 
Athens, 378— 384.— Repulsed from 
iEgina, 430: Intrigues against De- 
maratus, 436 ; actions and fate, 
439—443 
Cleonas, a city of Mount Afhos, 487 
Clineas, an Athenian captain, 589 
Clisthenes, tyrant of Sicyon, 379, 463 
-465 • 

, an Athenian, 379—382, 

465 
Clyiiads, an Elian family, 670 ; see 

Tisamenus 
Cnidus, a town of Caria, 70, 183 ; 

Cnidians, 83,256,334 
Cnoethus, father of Nicodromus, 446 
Cobon, son of Aristopbantus, 436 
Codrus, king of Athens, 379, 384 

, son ofMelanthus, 71, founder 

of Miletus, 702 
Coela, (the hollow) 452 
Coenyra, a town in Thasos, 429 
Coes, tyrant of Mitylene, 306, 353, 

366 
Colseus, a Samian captain, 329 
Colaxais, ancestor of the Scythians, 

270 
Colchians, 145, 238, 282 ; in the army 

of Xerxes, 509 
Colchis, 2 

Colias, on the coast of Attica, 623 
Colophon, an Ionian city, 6, 69, 
Colossal statues, 160, 166, 172, 182 
Colosse, a city of Phrygia, 489 
Columns of Sesostris, 145 : of Her- 
cules, 124: of Darius, 303 
Combrea, a city of Crossaea, 524 
Compsatus, a river of Thrace, 520 
Coniaeus, a Thracian race, 378 
Contadesdus, a river of Thrace, 304 
Copai's, a lake of Boeotia, 644 



Corcyra, colonized from Corinth, 211 

Corcyrseans, 211 — 214 : their conduct 
in the Persian war, 548 

Coressus, a port near Ephesus, 399 

Corinth, Corinthians, their history 
under Periander, 9, 210 — 214 : 
under Cypselus, 392 — 395: junction 
with Cleomenes, 383 : lend ships to 
the Athenians, 447 : conduct in the 
Persian war, 564, 622, 705. Inci- 
dental references, 6, 21, 178, 334 

Corobius, a Cretan, 328 

Coronaeans, neighbours of the Thebans, 
385 

Corsica, or Cyrnus, 78, 547 

Corycium, a cavern of Parnassus, 596 

Corydallus, of Anticyra, 569 

Corys, a river of Arabia, 190 

Cos, Coos, a Doric island, 70, 547 

Cotys, father of Asias, 286 

Cranaspes, a Persian, 249 

Cranaeans, ancient name of the Athe- 
nians, 600 

Crastis, a stream near Sybaris, 369 

Crathis, a river of Achaia, 70 

Cratines, or Cretineus, father of Anax- 
alaus, 547 

Cratinus, father of Aminocles, 560 

Cremnis, a port, Cremuians, a people 
of the Masotic gulph, 276, 311 

Creston, Cretona, a city of Thrace, 23, 
351, 525, 635 

Crete, Cretans, 82, 328 ; conduct in 
the Persian war, and early history, 
549—551 

Crinippus, 'father of Terillas, 547 

Crisaeen plain, of Locris, 595 

Critalla, a city of Cappadocia, 488 

Critobulus, a Cyrenaean, 184 

Crius, a citizen of iEgina, 430, 439 

Crobyzian Thracians, 288 

Crocodiles, 132—134 : of the Indus, 
285 : of Libya, 344 

-, city of, in Egypt, 168 

Croesus, king of Lydia, 3 : 10 — 23 : 
30—44. 73,99,193,204: 366: En- 
riches Alcmason ; 424. 462 : 596 

Crophi and Mophi, supposed mounts 
in Upper Egypt, 115 

Crossasa, a district of Macedonia, 
525 

Crotona, a city of Magna Graecia, 225, 
369. Crotonians aid the Greeks, 
601 

Cuphagoras, an Athenian, 459 

Curium, a city of Cyprus, 405 

Cyaneau islands in the Euxine, 302 

Cyaxares, king of Media, 7, 32, 49 — 
51 

Cybelle, temple of, atSardis, 400 

Cyberniscus, a Lycian, 514 

Cyclades, islands of the iEgaean sea, 
363 

Cydippa, daughter of Terillus, 547 

Cydonia, a city of Crete, 209, 215 

Cydrara, a city on the borders of Phry- 
gia, 490 

Cyllestes, Egyptian cakes, 136 



INDEX. 



749 



Cyllyrians, slaves of Sicily, 542 

Cylon, an Athenian, 381 

Cyme, an iEolian city, 71, 75 ; Cy- 
masans, 76, 367, 408, 561, 641 

Cynasgiras, a valiant Athenian, 458 

Cyneas, father of Philager, 452 

Cynetes, Cynesians, farthest people of 
Europe, 118, 288 

Cyniscus, son of Leotychides, 438 

Cvno, or Spaco, nurse of Cyras, 53 — 
60 

Cynosargean Hercules, 378,459 

Cynosura, an island near Salamis, 614 

Cynurians, people of Peloponnesus 
612 

Cyprian verses, 151 

Cyprus, Cyprians, conquered by Araa- 
sis, 185 ; 196, 236 ; their revolt, 
401, and subjection, 405 : in the 
fleet of Xerxes, 512 

Cypselus, tyrant of Corinth, 9 ; see 
391—395 : 464 

, father of Miltiades, 423 

Cyraunis, an island near the Libyan 
coast, 344 

Cyrene, Cyrenaeans, history of, 325 — 
336: 346—349: 192 

Cyrnus, (Corsica) 78, 547 

, a city of Carystia, 706 

, a hero, 79 

Cyrus, king of Persia, 19; his war 
with Croesus, and conquest of the 
Lydian kingdom, 30 — 39 : treatment 
of Croesus, 39—44 : three accounts 
of his life, 46 : history of bis birth 
and childhood, 51 — 60 : revolt 
against Astyages the Mede, 60 — 64 : 
Redaction of the Lesser Asia, 68 — 
84 : attack upon Assyria, 84 : Cap- 
ture of Babylon , 90 — 92 : expedition 
against the Massagetes, and his 
death, 96 — 103. Incidental refer- 
ences, 203, 234, 263, 267, 475, 481, 
714 

Cythera, an island off Peloponnesus, 
37; temple of Venus there, 50: its 
danger to Sparta, 578 

Cythnus, an island of the sea of Myr- 
tus, 512, 601, 609 

Cytissoras, son of Phixus, 563 

Cyzicus, a city of Propontis, 274, 297, 
423 

Dadices, a people of Asia, 236, 505 
Daedalus, son of Eupalamus, 550 
Dai, Nomadic Persians, 61 
Damasithymus, king of Calyndene, 

514, 619 
Damasus, son of Amyris, 463 
Damia and Auxesia, 386 
Danae, mother of Perseus, 139, 431, 

504, 540 
Danaus and Lynceus, 139 
, son-in-law of Archander, 143 : 

daughters of, 185. Danaus and 

Xuthus, 513 
Daphne, Pelusian, of Egypt, 116, 

147 



Daphnis, tyrant of Abydos, 323 

Dardanus, a city near Abydos, 406, 496 

Dardanians, or Darnians, a people of 
Asia, 90 

Dariles, a people of Asia, 236 

Darius, king of Persia, 100 ; meaning 
of his name, 450 : question to Greeks, 
206: conspiracy to overthrow the 
Mage, 223—229. Consultation on 
the form of government to be estab- 
lished in Persia, 229 — 232: his ac- 
cession, 233 : Division of the empire 
into Satrapies, 234 : punishment of 
Intaphernes, 245 ; destruction of 
Oroetes, 246—250. Cure by Demo- 
cedes, and its consequences, 251 — 
257 : price of a scarlet cloak, 257 — 
262 ; siege and capture of Babylon, 
262—267 : expedition against the 
Scythians, 268, 301—307, his dis- 
comfiture, 313 — 325 : expedition 
against Barca, 346 : treatment of the 
Paeonians, 353 — 355 : embassy to 
Amyntas, 356 — 358 : conduct to- 
wards Histiaeus, 359 : Ionian revolt, 
361; Burning of Sardis, 397, audits 
consequences, 400 : Revolt of the 
Cyprians, 401 — 405 : subjugation of 
Ionia and conduct of Histiasus, 406 
— 421 : First attempt upon Greece, 
427 — 430: second attempt, 448— 460: 
new preparations, 471, dispute be- 
tween his sons, 472 : his death, 473, 
Incidental references, 505, 514, 574, 
620. Darius, son of Xerxes, 708 

Dascylas, father of Gyges, 4 

Dascyleum, a city of Bithynia, 246 
249, 423 

Datis, a Mede, general of the Persians 
at Marathon, 449—460 : his sons 
511 

Datus, a city of the Edonians, 691 

Daulians, a people of Phocis, 596 

Daurises, son-in-law of Darius, 406 

Decelea, a district of Attica, 658 — 690. 
Decelus, 690 

Dejoces, king of the Medes, 7 ; 32 ; 
see 47 — 49 

Deiphonas, son of Evenius, 700 

Delians, 280, 449 

Delium, a Theban city, 459 

Delphi — Delphians, 8, oracle con- 
sulted by Croesus, 19, 21 : en- 
riched by him, 21, 44: its tem- 
ple burned, 21, 184 ; rebuilt by 
the Alcmaeonids, 377 : The Delphi- 
ans consult the oracle on the ap- 
proach of the Persians, 555 ; remove 
their goods, and abandon the place, 
596: repulse of the Barbarians, 597 

Delta, of the Nile, 110,184 

Delos, an island of the ./Egasan sea, 
27, 179, 280, 449, 4.50, 643, 698 

Demaratus, king of Sparta, 383, 430; 
supplanted by the intrigues of Cleo- 
inenes, 434—438 : advice to Xerxes, 
472 ; opinions given during the war, 
515,518. 567,578,580 



750 



INDEX. 



Demarmenus, father of Prinetades, 

368, and of Chilon, 436 
Democedes, a physician of Crotona, 

his adventures, 251 — 257 
Democracy, advocated by Otanes, 
229 ; established in the Ionian cities 
by Mardonius, 427 
Democritas, of Naxos, 600 
1 Domonax, a Mantinean, 333 
Demonous, father of Penthylus, 562 
Demophilus, a Thespian general, 573 
Dersaeans, a Thracian tribe, 520 
Derusiaeans, a Persian tribe, 61 
Deucalion, king of Thessaly, 23 
Diactorides, father of Eurydame, 439 

, a Cranonian, 464 

Diadromus, father of Demophilus, 

573 
Diana, the Ephesian, 10 ; of the Egyp- 
tians, 129, 137 ; Bubastis, 163 ; 
173; the Grecian. 211, 303, 469, 
554 
Dicsea, a city of Thrace, 520 
Dicaeus, an Athenian exile, 608 
Dictyna, or Dictynna, her fane, 216 
Didymus, oracle of, 416: see Bran- 

chidae 
Dienecis, a Spartan, full of valorous 

conceits, 575 
Dindymene, (Cybele) 36 
Dinomenes, father of Gelon, 536 
Diomed, bravery of, 151 
Dionysius, a Phocsean, his able con- 
duct, 413 
Dionysophanes, an Ephesian, 696 
Dionysus, (Bacchus) 166 
Dioscures, (Castor and Pollux, - ) 123, 

126, 463 
Dipoea, a place in Peloponnesus, 671 
Dithyrambus, a valiant Thespian, 575 
Dithyrambics, first composed by Arion, 

Divination, of the Egyptians, 137 ; of 
the Nasamones, 337 ; of the Scy- 
thians, 294. 

Dium, a city of Mount Athos, 487 

Doberes, a people of Paeonia, 355, 
521 

Dodona, oracle of, 19, 127 ; origin of, 
128; 700 

Dolonces, a people of Thrace, 423 

Dolopes, a people of Thessaly, 528 
557 

Dorians, 4, 11, 69, 70, 81, 214, 384 
431, 513 ; see 595, and 612 ; 599 

Doris, formerly Dryopis, 595 

Dorieus, son of Anaxaudrides, 367 — 
370; 544, 565 ; his son Euryanax,656 

Doriscus, a shore of Thrace, 398, 488 
503, 519 

Dorus, king of the Dorians, 23 

Doryssus, son of Leobotes, 565 

Dotus, a Persian general, 507 

Dropices, a Persian race, 61 

Drymus, a city of Phocis, 595 

Dryopis, a region of Thessaly, 23, 70, 
see 595 ; Dryopians of Pelopon- 
nesus, 612 



Dymae, a town of Achaia, 70 
Dymauates, a tribe at Sicyon, 381 
Dyras, a river of Trachinia, 563 
Dysorum, Mount, 356 

Ecbatana, a city of Media, 48; — of 

Syria, 219 
Echecrates, father of Eetion, 392 
Echidorus, a river of Thrace, 525 
Echemus, son of Aeropus, 665 
Echestratus, son of Agis, 565 
Echinades, islands at the mouth of the 

Achelous, 108 
Eclipses of the sun, 34, 493, 656 
Edonians, a people of Thrace, 353, 358, 

408, 520, 691 
Eetion, father of Cypselus, 392 
Egestaeans, a people of Sicily, 370 
Ei'on, a city on the Strymon, 488, 521, 

636 
Elasus, a city of the Thracian Cher- 
sonese, 470, 486, 490, 712, 71$ 
Elatea, a city of Phocis, 595 
Elbo, an island of the Nile, 164 
Elephants, 343 
Elephantine, a city of Upper Egypt, 

108, 115, 133, 182, 195 
Eleusis, a town of Attica, 383, 440 ; 
see 608, 666. Eleusinian Ceres, 662, 
704 
Elia, Elis, 279 
Elis, a country of Peloponnesus, 613. 

Elians, 175, 253, 464, 670, 692 
Ellopia, a district of Euboea, 592 
Elorus, a river of Sicily, 542 
Enchelas, a town of Illyricurn, 377, 

675 
Enetes, or Venetians, 95, 352 
Enians, of Thrace, 528,557, 563 
Enipeus, a river of Thessaly, 526 
Enneacrunos, nine springs near Athens, 

468 
Eordians, of Macedonia, 557 
Epaphus, god of the Memphians, 

120 
Ephesus, 374; 443. Ephesians, 10, 

69, 71 
Ephialtes, the traitor, 569, 573 
Ephors of Sparta, 28, 262, 367, 435, 

656, 692 
Epicydes, father of Glaucus, 445 
Epidamns, a river of Thessaly, 562 
Epidaurus, a town of Peloponnesus, 70, 

211, 213, 387, 600, 667 
Epigones, supposed poems of Homer, 

280 
Epistrophus, father of Amphimnestris, 

463 
Epium, a city of the Minyans, 327 
Epizelus, an Athenian, 459 
Epizephyrian Locrians, 418 
Erasinus, a river of the Stymphalian 

lake, 441 
Erechtheus, king of Athens, 386, 559, 

600, 604 
Eretria, a city of Euboea, 26, 398, 427, 
449; its destruction by the Persians, 
451,460; 600,667 



INDEX. 



751 



Eridanus, a river of Europe, 243 
Erochns, a city of Phocis* 595 
Erxander, father of Coes, 306, 366 
Erythea, an island near Gades, (Red 
^island,) 271 

Erythrebolus, a city of Egypt, 148 
Erythrae, a city of Ionia, 7 , 69. 411 

■ , a town of Bceotia, 659 

Eryx, a region of Sicily, 369 
Eryxo, wife of Arcesilaus, 333 
Etearchus, king of Axus, 329 
, king of the Ammonians, 

117 
Eteocles, father of Laodaraus, 337 
Evaenetus, son of Carenns,552 
Euagoras, a Lacedaemonian, 452 
Eualcides, general of the Eretrians, 

400 
Eubcea, 280, 363, 451, 584, 587, 590 
Euboeans of Sicily, 543 
Euclid.and Oleander, 542 
Evelthon, king of Salamis, in Cyprus, 

334, 401 
Evenius, father of Deiphonus, 700 
Evesperides, islands on the coast of 

Libya, 337 

, people of Libya, 346 

Eumenes, an Athenian captain, 622 
Euraenides, (Furies) temple of the, 

327, 702 
Eunomus, son of Polydectes, 642 
• Eupalinus, an engineer, 216 
Euphorbus, son of Alcimachus,452 
Euphorion, father of iEschylus, 173 

, father of Laphanes, 463 

Euphrates, 85—89 ; 91, 374 

Earipus, the strait of Euboea, 384, 556, 

588 
Europa, of Tyre, 2, 82, 288 
Enrope, 283, 285, 243, 473 
Euryanax, son of Dorieus, 656, 681 
Eurybates. of Argos, 448, 691 
Eurybiades, commander of the Grecian 

fleet, 582, 599, 613, 638 
Euryclides, father of Eurybiades, 582 
Eurycrates, son of Polydorus, 565 
Eurycratides, son of Anaxander, 565 
Eurydame, wife of Leotychides, 439 
Euryderaus, father of Ephialtes, 569 
Eurylaus, a companion of Dorieus, 

370 
Eurymachus, father of Leontiades, 566 
Euryphon, son of Procles, 642 
Eurypylus, son of Aleuas, 683 
Eurysthenes, son of Aristodemus, 326, 

367,431,565 
Eurystheus, king of Argos, 666 
Eurytus, a valiant Spartan, 576 
Euthjnus, father of Hermolycus, 706 
Eutychides, father of Sophanes, 690 
Euxine sea, 3, 32, 282 ; nations of the 

Euxine, 286 : see 302 
Exampaeus, a Scythian region, 289, 

300 
.Expiation, 15,27 

Fate, 43, 209, 219, 393 

Festivals ; Apaturia,71; Carneia, 566; 



Hyacynthia, 654 ; Theophania, 21 ; 

Thesmophoria, 416 . Egyptian, 126, 
see K9 — 131. Ethiopian, 237 ; Scy- 
thian, 309, of Diana, 469 ; 281 ; of 
the mother of the gods, 297 : of Mi- 
nerva, 339; of Vulcan, 625. Baby- 
lonian, 92 

Funerals ; of the Spartan kings, 433 ; 
of the Persian kings, 434 ; of the 
Scythian kings, 295; of the Egyp- 
tians, 138 ; of the Babylonians, 96 ; 
of the Getes, 351 ; of the Massa- 
getes, 103 ; of Artachaees, 522 ; of 
Masistius, 664 

Furies, 327 

Gades, beyond the Pillars of Hercules, 

271 
Gaeson, a river near Mycale, 702 
Galepsus, a city of Macedonia, 524 
Gallaic region of Macedonia, 520 
Gamores, landholders of Syracuse, 

542 
Gandarians, a people of Asia, 236, 

505 
Garamantes, a people of Libya, 338, 

341 
Gargaphian fountain, near Plataea, 664, 

679 
Gavanes, brother of Perdiccas, 645 
Gebeleizis, see Zalmoxis 
Gela, a city of Sicily, 418, 541 
Geleon, son of Ion, 379 
Gelon, tyrant of Syracuse, 541 — 548 
Gelon, son of Hercules, 272 
Gelonus, a wooden city in Scythia, 

310, 316 
Geometry, 106— 119 : 281—290: 336 

—346: 371 , 'origin of, 147 
Gephyraeans, a family at Athens, 375, 

377 
Geraestus, a town of Euboea, 585, 706 
Gergis, a Persian general, 509 
Gergithe-Teucrians, 408, 490 
Germanians, a Persian tribe, 61 
Gerrhus, a region and river of Scythia, 

276, 287, 290, 295 
Geryon, a monster, 271 
Getes, a people of Thrace, professing 

immortality, 304,306 
Gigonus, a town of Crossaea, 524 
Giligammes, a people of Libya, 336 
Gillus, an exile of Tarentum, 256 
Gindanes, a people of Libya, 338 
Glaucon, father of Leager,G91 
Glaucus, a Chian artist, 10 

-, a Spartan, 445 

, son of Hippolochus, 71 

Glissas, a town near the Thermodon, 

676 
Gnomon, invented by the Babylonians, 

147 
Gnurus, a Scythian, 298 
Gobryas, a Persian prince, father of 

Mardonius, 223—229; 320; 473, 

509 
Gonnus, a city of Thessaly, 526, 
553 



INDEX. 



Gordius, a Phrygian king, 6, 15, 346 
Gorgo, daughter of Cleomenes, 370 ; 
her pertinent advice, 373 ; and sa- 
gacity, 581 
Gorgon's head, 140 

Gorgns, king of Salamis, in Cyprus, 
401, 586 

, a Persian general, 514 

Greece, its climate, 240; its people, 
516 ; 546 : explored by order of 
Darius, 254 ; its calamities, 450 : its 
preservation, 532,536 
Greeks, their derivation, 23, 127 ; 
their reputation for wisdom and ge- 
nerosity, 25, 693, 593 ; patriotism, 
683, 654, 655, 528, 536 ; origin of 
their learning, 147, 376; origin of 
their mythologies, 123, 126, 127, 
129, 166 ; religions opinions, 64 ; 
political opinions, 391, 529; com- 
merce, 1, 241, 257 ; their arms, 339, 
342; colonies, 172, 183, see Cyrene, 
Barca, Sicily, Italy, the Euxine : 
compared with other nations, 120, 
106, 206, 65, 699 ; 45, 695 ; conflicts 
with the Barbarians, see Marathon, 
Thermopylie, Artemisium, Salamis, 
Plataea, and Mycal6. Their sub- 
mission demanded, 429, 490, 528 ; 
552,581, 588,599, particular usages, 
278; friendship, 184; 

Greeks of Asia, 11, 68, 69, 71, 104, 
186, 199, 307, 323 ; see Aristagoras, 
and Histiaeus, 707 

Greeks of Scythia, 275, 288, 310 

Graces, hill of, 338 

Griffins, 244, 273 

Grinus, king of Thera, 328 

Grynea, an iEolian city, 71 

Gyges, usurper of Sardis, 4 — 6, 43, 
45 

, father of Myrsus, 247, 407 

Gy gea, sister of Alexander, 358, 644 

Gyndes, a river of Armenia, 90, 97, 
374 , 

Gyzantes, a people of Libya, 344 

Haemus, Mount, 288 

Haliacmon, a river of Macedonia, 526 

Halicarnassus, a city of Asia Minor 1, 

70, 183, 514 
Halys, a river of Asia Minor, 3, 11, 32, 

34, 373, 488 
Hanno, father of Amilcar, 547 
Harmamithres, a Persian general, 511 
Harmatides, father of Dithyrambus, 

575 
Harmocydes, general of the Phocians, 

660 
Harmodius, see Aristogiton 
Harpagus, a Median Prince, 3C, 52 — 

58,63; 77—84 

, a Persian general, 420 

Hebe, 703 

Hebrus, a river of Thrace, 304, 503 

Hecataeus, a Greek historian, 165,366, 

408, 468 
Hector, son of Priam, 153 



Hegesander, father of Hecatasus, 408 
Hegesicles, king of Sparta, 27 
Hegesipyla, daughter of Olorus, 425 
Hegesistratus, tyrant of Sigeum, 396 

, an Elian diviner, 672 

, a Samian, 699 

Hegetorides, of Coos, 692 
Hegias, brother of Tisamenns, 671 
Helen, wife of Menelaus, 2, 149 — 153 

435, 690 
Helice, a city of Achaia, 70 
Heliconian Neptune, 71 
Heliopolis (city of the sun) a city of 

Egypt, 105, 107, 129, 130 
Helisycians, a people of Gaul, 547 
Helle, daughter of Athamas, 502 
Heilen, father of Dorus, 23 
Hellenians, 23 

Hellespont, 283 ; see 203, and 491 ; 

353, 358, 422; 470; Bridges at, 

491; 501. Hellespontines, 304 ) 

513, Hellespoutin (wind) 559 

Hellopian, or Ellopian district in Eu- 

bcea, 592 
Helots of Sparta, 433, 592, 667 
Hephaestia, a town of Lemnos, 
Heraclea, a city of Sicily, 369 
Heraclids, kings of Sardis, 4, 43 

— , of Sicily, 369 

, return to Peleponnesus, 

665 
Heraclides, son of Ibanolis, 407 

, father of Aristodicus, 7't 

, father of Aristagoras, 

366 
Herajus, a city of Thrace, 304 
Hercules, the Egyptian, 123, 166, 137, 
149 ; the Tyrian, 124, the Grecian, 
123, 166 ; with Jason, 561 ; 563, 
565 ; In Scythia, 271, 291 ; print of 
his foot, 301 ; Temples of, 459, altar 
of, 554 

, pillars of, 118, 271, see 284 

340, 341 
Hermione, a town of Peloponnesus, 

215, 474, 599, see 613, 667 
Hermippus, of Atarnea, 410 
Hermolycus, a valiant Athenian, 705 
Hermophantes, an Asian Greek, 399 
Hermotimus, of Pedasus, 628 
Hermotybies, Egyptian warriors, 177, 

670 
Hermus, a river of Asia Minor, 23, 36. 

399 
Herodotus, of Halicarnassus, 1; date 
of his history, 109, 128, and 167 ; 
lived to the time of the Pelopon- 
nesian war, 530, 690 : his religious 
opinions and scruples, 127, see 105, 
and 131 ; 125, 179, 443, 528, see 
588; 686: his opinion of oracles, 
615 ; bis method and rules of history, 
3, 46, 84, 103, 105. 144 ; see 157 : 
190, 306, 540, 613 ; fond of digres- 
sions, 279, 551 : his impartiality 
and caution, 369, 532, see 540, 541 
613 , 
, an Ionian, 643 



INDEX. 



753 



Heroes, not worshipped in Egypt, 

127: 79, 405, 424, 438, 496, 522, 

597 
Herophantus, of Pariuin, 323 
Herpys, a Theban, 673 
Hesiod, the poet, 127, 280 
Hiero, brother of Gelon, 542 
Hieronymus, an Andrian, 670 
Himera, a city of Sicily, 419 
Hipparchus, son of Pisistratus, 375, 

462, 474 
Hipnias, son of Pisistratus, 26, 391 — 

397; 454 
Hippobotes, rearers of horses (knights 

or gentry) 384, 451, 543 
Hippoclides, an Athenian, 464 
Hippoclus, of Lampsacns, 323 
Hippocoon, father of Scaeus, 376 
Hippocrates, father of Pisistratus, 24 

, tyrant of Gela, 418 

-, son of Megacles, 465, 



542 



-, father of Smyndyrides, 



463 

Hippocratides, son of Leotychides,642 
Hippolaus, promontory in the Euxine, 

290 
Hippolochus, father of Glaucus, 71 
Hippomachus, a diviner, 673 
Hipr)onicus, father of Callias, 540 
Hippopotamus, of the Nile, 134 
Histiaeotis, a region of Eubosa, 553,591 

, a region of Tbessalj, 23 

Histiasus, tyrant of Miletus, 323, 353, 

358 : instigator of the Ionian revolt, 

365, 402, 409, 419—421 

, father of Phylacus, 618 

, tyrant of Termera, 366, 514 

Homer, 113, 127 ; citations, 150, 279, 

280 : 380, 546 
Hoples, son of Ion, 379 
Hyacinthia, 654 
Hyaena, 344 

Hyampeus, summit of Parnassus, 597 
Byampolis, a city of Thessaly, 594, 

595 
Hyates, a tribe at Sicyon, 380 
Hybla, a city of Sicily, 542 
Hydarues, a Persian noble, 223, 468, 

529 

, father of Sisamnes, 505 

Hydrea, an island off Peloponnesus, 

215 
Hyela, a city of CEnotria, 79 
Hygennians, a people of Asia, 235 
Hylaea, a region of Scvthia, 276, 290, 

297 
Hylleans, a tribe at Sicyon, 381 
Hyllus, son of Hercules, 430, 565, 642, 

665 

, a river of Lydia, 36 

Hymeas, son-in-law of Darius, 406, 

407 
Hymettus, Mount, 468 
Hypachreans, Cilicians, 512 
Hypacyris, a river of Scythia, 287, 

290 
Hypanis, a river of Scythia, 287, 290 

3 



Hyperanthes, son of Darius, 574 
Hyperboreans, 273 ; see 280 — 281 
Hyperoche and Laodice, Hyperborean 

damsels, 281 
Hyrcanians, 244, 504 
Hyrgis, a river of Scythia, 290 
Hyria, a city of Italy, 550 
Hyroeades, a Mardian, 38 
Hysiae, a town of Boeotia, 455, 659, 

644 
Hysia, a town of Attica, 383 
Hystanes, father of Badres, 508 
Hystaspes, father of Darius, 100, 223, 

234, 574 
, son of Darius, 505 

Iacchus, the mystic, 608 

Jadmon, master of iEsop, 161 

Ialyssus, a Doric city, 70 

Jamidian family, diviners of Elis, 369, 

670 
Japygia, or Apulia, 256, 308 
Japyges, Messapian, 550 
Jardanus, 4 

Jason, the Argonaut, 338, 561 
Iatragoras, an Ionian, 366 
Ibanoles, father of Oliatus, 3C6, 407 
Iberia (Spain) 77, 547 
Ibis, sacred bird of the Egyptians, 132, 

135 
Icarian sea, 449 
Ichnae, a city of Bottireis, 525 
Ichneumon, 132 

Ichthyophagians, fish-eaters, 195 — 198 
Ida, Mount, 72, 496 
Idanthyrsus, king of Scythia, 298, 315, 

317 
Idrias, a region of Caria, 406 
lenysus, a town of Arabia, 188 
Ilias, Troas, 408 
Ilium, a city of Troas, 3, 108, 152, 396, 

496 
Ilissus, a river of Attica, 559 
Illyriaus, Enetes or Venetians, 95, 288, 

675 
Imbros, an island of the JSgaean sea, 

360, 426 
Immortals, Persian troops, 509, 568 
Immortal Thracians, Getes, 305 
Immortality of the soul, 157 
Iuarus, a Libyan king, 191, 194, 475 
India, its rare productions, 238 — 241 : 

283 
Indians, 238 : Calantian, or Calatian, 

206 ; subdued by Darius, 285 : In 

the army of Xerxes, 505, 
Indian dogs, 93, 558 
Indus, 285 

Ino, wife of Athamas, 562 
Inscriptions ; Cadmean, 376; falsified, 

21: of Nitocris, 89: on a pyramid, 

163 : of Sesostris, 146 : of Darius, 

234, 303, 304: at Thermopylae, 

575 
Intaphernes, a Persian prince, 223 — 

234; 245 
Intercalary month, 14, 106 
Interpreters, 172, 195,277 



754 



INDEX. 



Inycus, a city of Sicily, 419 
Io, daughter of Inachus, 1, 3, 122 
Iolcus, a town of Magnesia, 396 
Ion, ancestor of the lonians, 513, COO 
Tonia, lonians, reduced by Croesus, 4, 
see 68 — 72: conquered by Cyrus, 
72 — 80 : subject to Cambyses, 104, 
186 : to Darius, 235 ; employed in 
the expedition to Scythia, 304—307: 
behaviour at the Ister, 322 — 324 : 
Revolt under Aristagoras and His- 
tiseus, 361—373; reduction, 406— 
-121 : Liberated from tyrants by 
Mardonius, 427: commended by 
Xerxes, 500, and employed in the 
invasion of Greece, 513, 560 : tam- 
pered with by Themistocles, 589: 
conduct at Salamis, 618 — 621 : so- 
licit the Greeks, 643 : invited to re- 
Dellion by Leotychides, 703 : con- 
sultation on their afiV.i.s, 703, aban- 
doned by tlj-3 'jieeks, 711, see 
Athenia: 
Ionian gulph, 453 - 
Iphiclus, father of Protesilaus, 712 
Iphigenia, daughter of Agamemnon 

309 
Irasa, a region of Iibya, 332 
Irenes, see note to p. 696 
Is, a city and river of Babylonia, 85 
Isagoras, son of Tisander, 379 — 382 
Ischenous, father of Pytheas, 556 
Isis, of the Egyptians, see 122, 129, 

130, 173, 342 
Ismaris, a lake of Thrace, 520 
Israenian Apollo, 22, 376, 643 
Issedonians, a people of Northern 

Asia, 97, 274, 278 
Ister, a river of Scythia, 97, 118 ; see 

287, 322 
Isthmus of Corinth, 583, 598, 612, 613, 
654 

, Cnidian, 83 

— : , of the Chersonese, 424 

Istria, country at the mouth of the 

Ister, 298 
Italy, 10, 255, 274, 308, 463 
Itanus, a city of Crete, 328 
Ithamatres, a Persian general, 506 
Ithamitres, a Persian admiral, 641, 

705 
(Itkome) 672 
Juno, 13,183 184,442,680 

, Egyptian, 126 

Jupiter, Jove, Persian, 64, 495, 635 ; 
Belus, 86, 266 r Egyptian, 122, 

, Ammonian, 128, 199, 339; 

Dodonean, 128 ; ^Ethiopian, 116 ; 
a Scythian, 291 ; the Grecian, 18,437 
654, 107, 432, 407, 81, 259. 562, 
370 
Iyrces, a Scythian people, 277 

Kiki, an Egyptian ointment, 141 

Labda, daughter of Amphion, 392 
Labdacus, father of Laius, 376 
Liibranda, a city of Caria, 407 



Labynetus, king of Babylon, 33, 35 

, king of Assyria, 90 

Labyrinth of Egypt, 168 
Lacedaemon, Lacedaemonians, 21, their 
origin, 23 ; war with Tegea, and 
early history, 27 — 30 ; and 37 ; re- 
semble the Egyptians in their respect 
to the aged, 137 : expedition against 
Samos, 207, 209, 214 ; not addicted 
to study, 298: treatment of the 
Minyans, 325 — 328: see Sparta, 
applied to by Aristagoras, 371 : see 
Cleomenes: attempt against Athens, 
390 — 396: antiquities and institu- 
tions, 430—434; see Ariston — De- 
maratus : applied to by the Athe- 
nians, 453, their petty excuse, 454 ; 
and late arrival, 460 : treatment of 
the Persian heralds, 528 — 531 : con- 
joint embassies to Argos, Sicily, 
Corcyra, &c. 538 — 550 : occupation 
of Thermopylae, 552; see Leonidas : 
their custom before battle, 567 ; in- 
scription over the dead, 576; pre- 
vious knowledge of the Persian in - 
vasion, 580, their fleet at Artetni- 
sium, 583 : their interested policy, 
601, 612 : pay honours to Themis- 
tocles, 638 ; anxious embassy to 
Athens, 648 ; their blind policy 
654 — 656 ; advance to Bosotia, 662 
precedence in the allied army, 667 
their fears, 677 : insulted by Mar- 
donius, 678: conduct at Plataea, 
680—696 : conduct at Mycale, 702 
— 707 : their return to Greece, 
711 

Lacmon, Mount, 700 

Lacrines, a Spartan, 73 

Lada, an island near Miletus, 411 

Ladanum, an odoriferous drug, 243 

Ladice, wife of Amasis, 184 

Laius and (Edipus, 327, 376 

Lampitc, daughter of Leotychides, 
439 

Lampon, an JEginetan, 693 

, son of Thrasycles, 689 

, father of Olympiodorus, 663 

Lamponium, a city of Troas, 360 

Lampsacus, a city of the Hellespont, 
323, 406, 424 

Laodamas, son of Eteocles, 377 , a 

Phocaean, 323 

Laodice and Hyperoch6, 280 

Laphanes, son of Euphorion, 463 

Laphystian Jupiter, 562 

Lasonians, a people of Asia, 235, 508 

Lasus, of If ermione, 474 

Latona, oracle of, 173 

Laurian mines, 535 

Laus, a city of the Sybarites, 417 

Leager, son of Glaucon, 691 

Learchus, brother of Arcesilaus, 333 

Lebadia, a town of Bosotia, 643 

Lebaea, a city of Macedonia, 645 

Lebedus, a city of Lydia, 69 

Lectus, promontory, 711 

Leipsydrium, a city above Paeonia, 377 



INDEX. 



755 



Lemnos, an island of the JEgxan sea, 

325, 360, 468, 612 
Leo, a Troezenian, 555 
Leobotes, king of Sparta, 28,565 
Leocedes, son of Phidon,.463 
Leon, king of Sparta, 27, 565 
Leonidas, king of Sparta, 368, 565 ; 

his self-devotion at Thermopylae, 

566—576; 634 
Leontiades, a Theban general, 566, 

577 
Leontinians, a people of Sicily, 542 
Leoprepes, father of Theasides, 444 

, father of Simonides, 576 

Leotychides, king of Sparta, 436 — 438; 

444, commands the combined fleet of 

Greece, 642, 698—707 

, son of Anaxilaus, 642 

Lepreum, a city of the Minyans, 327, 

667 
Leros, an island near Miletus, 408 
Lesbos, an island of the iEgaean sea, 

72, 76, 207, 422 
Leucadians, islanders of the Ionian 

sea, 601, 668 
Leuce-acte, a coast of Thrace, 488 
Leucon, a city of Libya. 
Libya, Libyans, geography, 111, 283; 

circumnavigation of, 284 : climate 

and productions, 340, 345 : nations, 

336—346; 332—336 : superstitions, 

127: submission to Cambyses, 191 ; 

and to Darius, 236; and to Xerxes, 

557 
Liches, a Spartan, 29 
Lida, Mount, 83 

Ligures, a people of Gaul, 352, 547 
Ligyes, a people of Asia, 507 
Limenenm, a place in the Milesian 

territory, 7 
Liudus, a Doric city, 70, 184 ; Lin- 

dians of Rhodes, 541 
Linus, a song of the Egyptians, 136 
Lipaxus, a city of Crossaea, 524 
Lipoxais, son of Targitaus, 270 
Lipsydrium, see Leipsydrium. 
Lis 36, a city of Cross asa, 524 
Lissus, a river of Thrace, 520 
Locris, Locrians, (Opuntian) 528, 564, 

582 ; (Epizepbyrian) 418, (Ozolian) 

595 
Lotas, an Egyptian plant, 140 
Lotophagians, (eaters of the Lotus,) 

338 
Lucina (Ilithyia) 281 
Lycasan Jupiter, 248 
Lycaretus, brother of Maeandrius, 260, 

360 
Lycians, their origin, 82; 11, 235, 

512 
Lycidas, an Athenian senator, 653 
Lycomedes, a valiant Athenian, 586 
Lycopas, a valiant Spartan, 214 
Lycophron, son of Periander, 211 — 

214 
Lycurgus, the Spartan legislator, 27, 28 

, an Athenian, 24 

, an Arcadian, 463 

3 



Lycus, a river of Phrygia, 489 

, a river of Scythia, 316 

, a Scythian, 298 

, son of Pandion, 82, 513 

Lydia, Lydians, origin, 81; early his- 
tory, 4 — 10, 33, see Croesus: their 
warlike character, 36 : public works, 
44 ; usages, 45 : revolt and redac- 
tion, 73, 74: their marshal attire, 
507 
Lydias, a river of Macedonia, 526 
Lydus, son of Atys, 4, 81, 507 
Lygdamis, father of Artemisia, 514 

, a Naxian, 26 

Lynceus, and Danaus, 140 
Lysagoras, a Parian, 466 

, father of Histiaeus, 362 

Lysanias, an Eretrian, 464 
Lysimachus, father of Aristides, 616 
Lysistratus, an Athenian diviner, 
624 

Maces, a people of Libya, 338 

Macednic race, 599 

Macedonia, 526 ; its kings, 358; i~", 

Amyntas and Alexander. 
Machlyes, a people of Libya, 338 
Macistius, Makistius, or Masistius, a 

Persian general, 662 — 664 
Macistus, a city of the Minyans, 327 
Macrobian /Ethiopians, see /Ethiopians 
Macrones, a people beyond the Ther- 

modon, 146, 237, 508 
Mactorium, a town of Sicily, 541 
Madyes, a Scythian, 50 
Madytus, a city of the Chersonese, 

490, 714 
Masander, a river of Caria, 77, 406, 

488 
Maeandrius, a Samian, 248, 259, 360 
Maeonians (Lydians) 4, 507, Maeonians 

(Cabalian) 508 
Maaotis, Palus, 50, 269, 290, 302, 308, 

315 
Magdolus, a city of Syria, (mistaken 

for Megiddo) 175 
Magi, a Median tribe, 49 
Mages, of Persia, interpreters of 

dreams, 51, 58, 63 ; see 65, 67 ; 

485, 493, 496, 521, 560 

, the two brothers, 217—229 

Magnesia, of Asia Minor, 77, 247 
, of Macedonia, 553, 556, 

561 
Magnetes, of Europe, 528 

, of Asia, 235 

Malean promontory, 37, 338, 549 
Malena, a city of Atarnea, 421 
Males, brother of Titormus, 463 
Maliac territory, and golph, 280, 528, 

562, 595 
Mandane, daughter of Astyages, 51 
Mandrocles, a Samian architect, 303 
Maneros, an Egyptian song, 136 
Manes, king of Lydia, 45, 286 
Mantineans, 333, 564, 692 
Mantyas and Pigres, 353 
Mapen, a Svrian, 514 

c 2 



75G 



INDEX. 



Maraphians, a tribe of Persians, 61, 

336 
Marathon, 26; battle of, 454—460 

Mardians, a Persian tribe, 61 

Mardonins, bis first expedition against 
Greece, 427, 428 : superseded in 
command, 449: incites Xerxes to a 
new war, 473— 4S4 : his high rank, 
509;' advice to Xerxes, 625 ; and 
subsequent conduct, 634 : message 
to the Athenians, 645 ; and 653 : 
tonduct preliminary to the battle of 
Platsea, 660, and death, 685 ; 695 

Mardontes, a Persian general, 509, 
641, 705 

Marea, a city of Egypt, 112, 116 

Mares, or Marsians, 237, 508 

Mariandvnians, a people of Asia Mi- 
nor, 11, 235, 507 

Maris, a river of Sr.ythia, 287 

Maron and Alpheus, 575 

Maronea, a city of Thrace, 520 

Mars, the Egyptian, 131, 137: the 
Scythian, 291, 292 

Marsyas, a river of Phrygia, 407 

,Silenus, 488 

Mascames, a Persian governor, 518 

Masistes, son of Darius, 509, 524, 707 
—711 

Masistins, see Macistius 

, son of Siromitres, 509 

Maspians, a Persian tribe, 61 

Massages, a Persian general, 507 

Massagetes, a people of Northern 
Asia, attacked bv Cyrus, 96, and 
victorious, 98 — 103, their manners, 
103 : 272 

Matianian mountains, 90, 97 

, — people, 32, 237, 372, 374, 

507- 

Mausolus, 406 

Maxyes, of Libya, 343 

Mazares, a Mede, 74, 76 

Mecistes, brother of Adrastus, 380 

Mecyberna, a city of Thrace, 524 

Media, daughter of the king of Col- 
chis, 2, 504 

Medes, 32, 33 ; their early history, 
46 — 51 ; subjection to the Persians 
under Cyrus, 59—64: 282 ; see 
Mages : in the army of Xerxes, 504, 
510 ; 568. Note, the Greeks were 
accustomed to use the word Median 
as a general designation of the 
Asiatic empire. To "favour the 
Medes" means, to favour the Per- 
sians. 

Media, 53,282 

Medimnus, measure, 93, 432 

Mediterranean sea, 1, called by Hero- 
dotus, "this sea," or " our sea ;" or 
sometimes the northern sea 

Megabates, a Persian general, 363, 
514 

Megabyzus, a Persian commander, 
223, 230, 324, 351. 354, 514 

, son of Zopyrns, 267, 569 

Megacles, an Athenian, 24, 462 



Megacles, son of Alcmaeon, 464 

, son of Hippocrates, 465 

Megacreon, of Abdera, 523 
Megadostes, father of Mascames, 519 
Megapanus, governor of Babylon, 

504 
Megara, Megarians, 25, 658, 662 ; of 

Sicily, 542 
Megasidras, father of Dotus, 507 
Megistias, diviner to the Spartans at 

Thermopylae, 573—576 
Melampus, a seer, 126, 573, 671 
Melampygus, a rock near the Asopus, 

570 
Melanchlsenians, a people of northern 

Asia, 276, 309, 310 
Melanippus, a hero, 380 

1 — , of Mitylene, 396 

Melanthius, an Athenian commander, 

398 
Melanthus, father of Codrus, 71, 379 
Melas, a river of Thessaly, 563 
Melanic gulph, and river, 425, 502 
Meles, king of Sardis, 39 
Meliboea, a city of Magnesia, 559 
Melians, or Malians, 601 
Melissa, wife of Periander, 211, 395 
Membliarus, son of Paeciles, 327 
Memnon, city of (Susa) 540 
Memphis, a city of Egypt, 105, 108, 

143 
Menares, father of Leotychides, 436, 

438,642 
Menda, a city of Pallen6,524 
Mendes, (Egyptian Pan) 122, 125 
Mendesian plain, 123, 178 
Mendesian mouth of the Nile, 111 
Menelaus, husband of Helen, 149— 

152: 336 , 
Menes, first king of Egypt, 106 

143 
Menestheus, an Athenian commander, 

546 
Menius, brother of Eurydame, 439 
Merbal, son of Agbal, 514 
Mercury, temple of, 164 : Thracian, 

352 
Mermnades, kings of Sardis, 4,6 
Meroe, a city of ^Ethiopia, 116 
Mesambria, a city of Thrace, 305, 

423, 520 
Messana, a city of Sicily (Messina) 

547 
Messapian, Japyges, (Cretans) 550 
Messenians, of Peloponnesus, 672 
Metapontines, of Italy, 274 
Methymna, a city of Lesbos, 72 
Metiochns, son of Miltiades, 426 
Metrodorus, tyrant of Proconnesus, 

323 
Micythus, servant of Anaxilaus, 5,51 
Midas, king of Phrygia, 6, 15 ; his 

gardens, 646 
Miletus, a principal city of Ionia, 
Milesians, their war with Alyattes, 
6 — 8, .69, their submission to 
Cyrus, 80 ; part in the Ionian revolt, 
361 — 367 ; 398 : see Aristagoras and 



INDEX. 



/O/ 



Histiaeus : defeat of the Ionians 
near Miletus, 412, and fall of the 
city, 417 : colony at the mouth of 
the Ister, 118 : founded by Neleus, 
702 
Milo, a wrestler, 258 
Miltiades, son of Cypselus, 423—425 

, sou of Cimon, tyrant of the 

Chersonese, 425 ; 452 ; general of 
the Athenians at Marathon, 453 — 
460 ; his failure at Paros, 466, and 
death, 468 : his conquest of Lemnos, 
468—470 
Milyas, a province of Asia, 82, 235, 

508 
Minerva, Grecian, 604, 28, 688, 7, 9, 
369, 382, 386, 76, 26, 597, 623, 393, 
496, 184, 83: Egyptian, 137, 181 : 
Libyan, 339, 312 
Minoa, a colony from Selinus, 370 
Minos, of Cnossus, 247 

, son of Europa, 82, 550 

Minyans, descendants of the Argonauts, 

70, see 325—327 
Mitra, the Persian Venus, 64 
Mitradates, foster father of Cvrus, 

53—56 
Mitrobates, a Persian prince, 246 — 

249 
Mitylene, capital of Lesbos, 183, 396 
Mnesarchus, father of Pythagoras, 305 
Mnesiphilus, friend of Themistocles, 

604 ■ 
Maeris, king of Egypt, 109, 144 

, lake of, 109, 133; see 169: 

236 
Mokeis, a stream of Bosotia, 682 
Molossians, a people of Epirus, 70, 

464 
Molpagoras, father of Aristagoras, 

362 
Momemphis, a city of Egypt, 177 
Mophi, a (supposed) mountain of 

upper Egypt, 115 
Moschians, a people of Asia, 237, 508 
Mosynceces, a people of Asia, 237, 

508 
Mammies of Egypt, mode of prepar- 
ing, 138 : of Ethiopia, 198 
Munychia, a port of Attica, 614 
Murichides, a Hellespontine, 653 
Musseus, a seer, 474, 623, 676 
Mycale, a promontory opposite Samos, 
71, 415, 509, battle there, 698—707 
Mycenaeans, a people of Argolis, 

666 
Mycerinus, king of Egypt, 159- — 162. 
Mycians, a people of Asia, 236, 506 
Myconos, an Island near Delos, 459 
Myecphoris, a district in Egypt, 178 
Mygdonia, a district of Macedonia, 

525 
Mylassa, a Carian town, 81, 366, 407 
Mylitta, Assyrian Venus, 64 
Myndian ship, 364 
Myrcinus, a town of Edonia, 353, 358, 

408 
Mvriandrian gulph, 283 

3 c 



Myriua, an ./Eolian city, 71 

, a town of Lemnos, 470 

Myrmex, a rock near Sciathus, 556 

Myrou, father of Aristonymus, 463 

Myrrh, 241 

Myrsilus — Candaules, 4 

Myrsus, a Lydian, 247, 407 

Mys, of Europus, 643 

Mysians, subdued by Croesus, 11 ; 76 ; 

see 81 : 235, 407, 485, 495, 507 
Mytilene, see Mitylene 
Myus, a town of Ionia, 69, 366, 411 

Naparis, a river of Scythia, 287 
Nasamones, a people of Libya, 118, 

337, 343 
Natho, an island of the Nile, 178 
Naucrarian Prytanes, 381 
Naucratis, a port of the Delta, 143, 

162, 183 
Nauplius, a port of Argolis, 441 
Naustrophus, father ofEupalinus, 216 
Naxos, one of the Cyclades, 27, 361 — 

365, 449, 542, 600 
Neapolis, a town of Pallene, 524 

, a city of Egypt, 139 

Neco, father of Psammitichus, 171 

■ , king of Egypt, 174, 284 

Neleus, son of Codrus, 379, 702 
Neocles, father of Themistocles, 552 
Neon, a town of Phocis, 595 
Neotichus, an iEolian town, 71 
Neptune, Heliconian, 71 ; derived 
from Libya, 127, 342; the Scythian, 
291 : author of earthquakes, 527 : 
560 ; 638, 641, 694 
Nereids, 560 

Nestor, father of Pisistratus, 379 
Nestus, a river near Abdera, 520, 525 
Neurians, a Scythian people, 275, 288, 

310 
Nicander, king of Sparta, 642 
Nicandra, priestess at Dodona, 128 
Nicodromus, of iEgina, 446 
Nicolaus, son of Bulis, 531 
Nile, description, and conjectures rela- 
tive to its source and inundations, 
108—119: 284; compared with the 
Ister, 288 
Nineveh, 87, 93, 49, 170 
Ninus, son of Belus, 4 
Nipsaean Thracians, 305 
Nisasa, a town of Megara, 25 
Nisaean plain, and horses, 241 ; see 

495 
Nisyros, an island near Rhodes, 514 
Nitetis, daughter of Apries, 186 
Nitocris, queen of Babylon, 87, 89 

, queen of Egypt, 144 

Nitre, used in embalming, 138 
Noes, a river of Thrace, 283 
Nomadic tribes, of Scythia, 6, see 
Scythia 

■ : , of Libya, see Libya 

, of Persia, 510 

Nonacris, a town of Arcadia, 440 
Nothon, father of jEschines, 451 
Notium, an ^Eolian town, 71 



758 



INDEX. 



Nudium, a town of the Minyans, 327 
Nymphodorus, 6on of Pytheas, 531 
Nysa, a town of ^Ethiopia, 167, 237, 
comp. 242 

Oarizus, father Of Massages, 507 
Oarus, a river of Scythia, 316 
Oasis, a city of Libya, 199 
Obelisks, 148, 179 
Ocean, a supposed river, encompassing 

the earth, 113, 271, see 282 
Octamasades, brother of Scylas, 800 
Ocytus, father of Adimantas, 584 
Odomantians, a people of Thrace, 355, 

521 
Odrysaeans, a people of Thrace, 304 
G3a, a place in JEgina, 387 
GSbares, groom of Darius, 233 

, governor of Dascylium, 423 

G3dipus, son of Lains, 327, 376 
QSnoe, a town of Attica, 383 
CEnone, ancient name of iEgina, 600 
CSnotria, a district of Italy, 79 
GSnussaean islands off Messenia, 78 
GSobazus, a Persian, 301 

, father of Siromitres, 506 — 

a Persian, 712 
Oeroe, daughter of Asopus, 679 
GEtas, mount, 570 
GStosyrus, Scythian Apollo, 291 
Ojlolycus, 327 
Oiorpata, Amazons, 311 
Olbiopolitans, see Borysthenians 
Olen, a poet, 281 
Olenas, a town of Achaia, 71 
Oliatus, tyrant of Mylassa, 366 
Olophyxus, a town of Mt. Athos, 487 
Olorus, king of Thrace, 425 
Olympia, Olympic games, Olympian 
Jove, 107 : 175, 358, 566, 593, 643, 
694 : victors, 370, 381, 438, 452, 463 
Olympiodorus, son of Lampon, 663 
Olympus, Mount of Mysia, 16, 18, 507 

, Mount of Thessaly, 23, 526, 

552 
Olynthus, a town of Sithonia, 524; 639 
Oneates, a tribe at Sicyon, 380 
Onesilus, brother of Gorgus, 401 — 404 
Onetes, son of Phanagoras, 569 
Onochonus, a river of Thessaly, 526, 

562 
Onomacritus, a diviner, 474 
Onomastus, son of Agaens, 464 
Onupbis, a district of Egypt, 178 
Ophryneum, a town of Troas, 496 
Opis and Arge, 281 

, a town at the mouth of the Tigris, 

90 * 

Opoea, wife of Scylas, 298 
Opuntian Locrians, 564 
Oracles, see Aba, Dodona, Amnion, 
Amphiaraus, Bacis, Ptous, Musaeus 
Bacchus, Apollo, Delphi, Bran- 
chidas, Didymus, Hercules, Latona, 
Mars, Thebes, Thresprotia : the 
opinion of Herodotus, 615. Remark- 
able responses ; to Croesus 20, 23, 
43 ; to Arcesilaus, 334; to Battus, 



330 ; to the Cymeans, 75 ; to the 
Dolonces, 423 ; to the twelve kings 
of Egypt, 168; to Glaucus,445; to 
Lycurgus, 27 : to Neco, 174 to the 
Pelasgians, authorizing Polytheism, 
127 ; to Psammitichus, 171 ; to the 
Spartans, 572, 634 ; to the Athenians, 
533, and 534 : one quoted by Mar- 
donius, 675 ; to Mys of Caria, 644 
Orbelus, Mount, of Pasonia, 356 
Orchonienians, of Boeotia, 596 

, of Arcadia, 564, 667 

, Minyan, 70 

Ordessus, a river of Scythia, 287 
Orestes, son of Agamemnon, 29; Ores- 

teum, 657 
Orges, father of Antipater, 522 
Orgies, of Ceres, 377, see Cabiri ; 

Bacchus 
Orgyia, fathom, 103 ; see 169 
Oricus, a port of Apollonia, 700 

, son of Opoea, 298 

Orithyia, wife of Boreas, 559 
Orneates, a people of Peloponnesus, 

613 
Oroetes, governor of Sardis, 246 — 250 
Oromedon, father of Syennesis, 514 
Oropus, a port of Boeotia, 451 
Orosanges, Persian title of honour, 

618 
Orphic institutions, 137 
Orsiphantus, a Spartan, 575 
Orthian ode, 9 
OrthocorybantiaDS, a people sf Media, 

236 
Orthyades, a Lacedaemonian, 37 
Orus, son of Osiris, 166 
Osiris, Egyptian Bacchus : see Bac- 
chus 
Ossa, Mount, of Thessaly, 23, 526 
Ostracism, 616 

Otanes, a Persian prince, 222 — 230 : 
258—262 

, son of Sisamnes, 360, 406 

, father of Anaphes, 504; 695 

Otaspes, son of Artachaeus, 505 
Othrys, Mount of Thessaly, 526 
Ozolian Locrians, 595 

Pactolus, a river of Lydia, 399 
Pactya, a town of the Chersonese, 424 
Pactyas, a Lydian, 73 — 76 
Pactyica, a country of Asia, 236, 285 

505, 510 
Padaean Indians, 238 
Paean, hymn to Apollo, 351 
Paeanians, a tribe at Athens, 25 
Pasonia, Pasonians, 351, conquered and 
removed by Darius, 354 — 356 : their 
return, 398 : 557 
Paeoples, a people of Thrace, 355 
Paesus, a town of the Hellespont, 406 
Paetians, a people of Thrace, 520 
Pasum, 'a town of Azania, 463 
Pagasa, a town of Magnesia, 561 
Palaestine, people of, practise circum- 
cision, 145 ; conquered by Sesostris, 
146 : 50 : geography of, 188 ; see 



INDEX. 



759 



Cadytis; tributary to Darius, 236; 

in the army of Xerxes, 89, 507 : see 

Syrians 
Palans of Cephallenia, 668 
Pallene, a peninsula of Macedonia, 

524, 639 
Palms, of Libya, 337, 340 : of Baby- 
Ionia, 93 
Pamisus, a river of Thessaly, 526 
Pammon, a Scyrian, 556 
Pamphylians, a people of Asia Minor, 

11, 235, see 512 

, of Sicyon, 381 

i Pan, the Egyptian Mendes, 125, 166 ; 

the Grecian, 453 
Panaetius, son of Socimenes, 617 
Panathenaea, (festival) 375 
Pandion, father of Lycus, 82 
Pangaeus, Mount, of Paeonia, 355, 521 
Panionia, (festival) 70 
Panionium, place of meeting of the 

states general of Ioniaj 69, 71, 80, 

411 
Panionius, a nefarious Chian, 628 
Panites, a Messenian, 431 
Panopians, of Phocis, 596 
Panormus, a Milesian port, 75 
Pantagnotus, brother of Polycrates, 

207 
Pantalcon, brother of Croesus, 44 
Pautareus, father of Oleander, 541 
Panthialaeans, a tribe of Persians, 61 
Pauthimathians, a people of Asia, 236 
Panticapes, a river of Scythia, 276, 

287, 290 
Pantites, a Spartan, 577 
Papaeus, Scythian Jupiter, 29] 
Paphlagonians, a people of Asia 

Minor, 3, 11, 32, 235, 507 
Papraces, a kind of fish, 356 
Papremis, a city of Egypt, 129, 130, 

134, 177, 191 
Papyrus, see Byblos 
Paraebates, a Spartan, 370 
Paralates, Scythians, 270 
Parapotamium, a town of Phocis, 595 
Parasang, a Persian measure, see 

107,374,426 
Paretacenians, Medes, 49 
Paricanians, a people of Asia, 236, 

506 
Parium, a town of the Hellespont, 

406 
Paris, see Alexander 
Parmis, or Parmys, daughter of Snier- 

dis, 234, 508 
Parnassus, Mount of Thessalv, 593, 

595 
Paroreatejs, a people of Peloponnesus, 

327, 613 
Paros.'Onc of the Cyclades, 361 , 363, 

466, 467, 609, 633 
Parthenius, a river of Thrace, 146 
, Mount in Peloponnesus, 

453 
Parthians, a people of Asia, 237, 505 
Pasargades, a tribe of Persians, 61 
, a Persian commander, 336 

3 



Pasicles, father of Philistus, 702 
Pata, a Scythian word, 311 
Pataici,.figures of divinities, 206 
Pataicus, father of iEnesidemus, 542 
Patara, a- town of Lycia, 86 
Patarbemis, an Egyptian prince, 176 
Patiramphes, charioteer to Xerxes, 

495 
Patizeithes, a Mage, 217— 229 
Patrae, a town of Achaia, 70 
Patumus, a town of Arabia, 174 
Pausanias, son of Cleombrotus, 300, 

366; his ancestry, 565, 686: 583; 

General of the Greeks af'Plataea, 

662—694 
Pausices, a people of Asia, 236 
Pausiris, son of Amyrtasus, 194 
Pedasus, a town of Caria, 83, 407, 417, 

628 
Pedicae, a town of Phocis, 595 
Peithagoras, tyrant of Selinus, 370 
Pelasgians, ancient people of Greece, 

23 ; of Arcadia, 70 ; of Attica, 127 ; 

of Imbros, 360; of Lemnos, 468, 

470; of Achaia, 513, of Antandrus, 

496 : Cranaeans, 600 
Peleus, king of Thessaly, 560 
Pelion, Mount, of Thessaly, 338, 526 
Pella, a town of Bottiaea, 525 
Pellena, a district of Peloponnesus. 

70 
Pelops, a Phrygian, 476, 481 
Peloponnesians, see Lacedaemonians, 

Arcadians, Argives, Messenians,&c. 
Peloponnesus, inhabited by Dorians, 

23, 595 : for the most part subject 

to the Lacedaemonians, 30 : its seven 

nations, 612 
Pcloponnesian war, 530 ; 690 ; eomp. 

577 
Pelusian, mouth of the Nile, 111, 

172, 190 
Penelope, mother of Pan, 167 
Peneus, a river of Thessalv, 485, 526, 

&52, 556 
Pentapolis, a Dorian district, 69 
Penthylus, general of the Paphians, 

562 
Percalos, wife of Demaratus, 436 
Percote a town of the Hellespont, 

406 
Perdiccas, ancestor of Amyntas, 

358, 645, 646 
Pergamus, citadel of Troy, 496 

, a fort in Thrace, 521 

Perialla, Pythoness, 436 

Periander, tyrant of Corinth, 8, 9 : 

conduct to his son, 210 — 213 : to his 

wife, 395 
Pericles, his parentage, 465 
Perilaus, general of the Sicyonians, 

705 
Perinthus, a town of the Chersonese, 

304, 350, 422, 488 
Perpherees, 280 
Perhasbians, a people of Thessaly, 526, 

52S, 553 
Perses, son of Perses, 504, 540 

c 4 



760 



INDEX. 



Perseus, son of Danae, 139, 431, 504 
Persians, their historians, 1, 2, 3 : 
consider Asia their own, 3; rudeness 
of their manners originally, and 
poverty of their country, 31, 714 : 
subject to the Medes, 49; their 
revolt under Cyrus, 61 : several 
tribes, 61: success, 62 — 64: Reli- 
gion, manners, laws, 64 — 68 : For 
their later history, see Cyrus, Cam- 
byses, Darius, Xerxes: for their 
origin, see Cephenes, Perses, Per- 
seus : and of the royal family, 
Achaemenides ; their prejudices, 
194 : custom of burying alive, 204, 
521: mourning for the dead, 664; 
martial sentiments, 708, 620, 556, 
.^80 ; manners at table, 356, 197, 
695 ; dress and accoutrements, 416, 
371, 504, 510, and discipline, 364, 
509, 574, 660, 686, 688, 689 : extent 
and revenues of the Persian empire, 
234—238 ; Persian posts, 625 
Petra, a town of the Corinthians, 392 
Phaedima, daughter of Otanes, 222, 

223 
Phaenippus, father of Collias, 461 
Phagres, Phagra, a fort of Pieria, 521 
Phalerus or Phalerum, the port of 
Athens, 378, 388, 459, 609, 621, 
670 
Phanagoras, father of Onetes, 569 
Phanes, a Halicarnassian, 188, 190 
Pharandates, son of Theaspes, 509, 

691 
Pharbaethis, a district of Egypt, 178 
Pharse, a town of Achaia, 70 
Pharnaces, father of Artabazus, 505, 

674 
Phamaspes, father of Cassandane, 104, 

187 
Pharnazathres, a Persian general, 505 
Pharnuches, general of cavalry, 511 
Phaselis, a Doric town, 183 
Phasis, a river of Colchis, 2, 50, 145, 

282, 286, 302, 443 
Phayllus, of Crotona, 601 
Phageus, father of Aeropus, 665 
Pheneus, a town of Arcadia, 440 
Pherendates, son of Megabazus, 505 
Pheretijna, wife of Arcesilaus, 336 : 

346—349 
Pheron, king of Egypt, 148 
Phidippides, a courier, 453 
Phidon, tyrant of Argos, 463 
Phigalia, a district of Arcadia, 443 
Philaeus, son of Ajax, 423 
Philager, son of Cyneas, 452 
Philaon, son of Chersis, 586 
Philes, father of Rhoscus, 216 
Philip, of Crotona, 370 

, king of Macedonia, 646 

Philistus, son of Pasicles, 702 
Philition. an Egyptian shepherd, 159 
Philocyon, a Spartan, 689, 696 
Philocyprus, tyrant of Solis, 405 
Plila, an island of the lake Tritciiis, 
338 



Phlegra, ancient name of Pallene, 
Phlius, a town of Peloponnesus, 524 
Phocaaa, an Ionian city of Lydia, 36, 
69, Phocaeans discover Tartessus, 
77 ; solicit the Spartans, 72 : 146 ; 
183 : join in the Ionian revolt, 411 ; 
under command of Dionysins, 416 
Phocis, a country of Greece, Phocians, 
fortify Thermopylae, 554, comp. 570, 
guard the mountain pass of (Eta, 
569—570 : devastated by the Per- 
sians, 595 : conduct under Harmo- 
cydes, 660 : harass the Persians, 669 
Phoebeum, temple of, 435 
Phosnicians, their migration, 1, and 
512 : their trade, 241 : practise cir- 
cumcision, 145 : introduce letters 
into Greece, 376 : circumnavigate 
Africa, 2S4 : in Egypt, 149: in 
Cythera, 50: worshippers of Her- 
cules, 124 : work the mines of 
Thasos, 429 : parents of Carthage, 
196 ; in the service of Xerxes, 511 ; 
their superior skill, 487 ; construct 
the bridge at the Hellespont, 491 ; 
exhibit their naval skill, 496: con- 
duct at Salamis, 620 The Cartha- 
genians are sometimes called bv 
Herodotus Phoenicians, 547, 548; see 
Tyre, and Sidon: geography of 
Phoenicia, 255, 283 ; tribute, 236 
Phoenix, fabulous bird, 134 

, a river near Anthela, 554, 

564 
Phormus, an Athenian, 556 
Phraortes, king of the Medes, 32, 49 
Phrataguna, wife of Darius, 574 
Phriconis, Cyma, 71 
Phrixae, atown of the Minyans, 327 
Phrixus, father of Cytissorns, 563 
Phronima, daughter of Etearchus, 329 
Phrygia, Phrygians, subdued by 
Croesus, 11, inhabit the banks of the 
Halys, 32 ; supposed antiquity, 104 : 
tributary to Darius, 235 ; in the ser- 
vice of Xerxes, 507 
Phrynichus, an Athenian poet, 417 
Phrynon, father of Attaginus, 659 
Phthiotis, a region of Thessaly, 23, 

528 
Phya, a woman of Attica, 25 
Phylacus and Autonous, 597 

■ , son of Histiaeus, 618 

Phyllis, a region near Mount Pang^eus, 

521 
Pieria, a region of Macedonia, 345, 

521,528,555,557 
Pigres, son of Seldomus, 514—, and 

Mantyes, 353 
Pilorus, a town of Mount Atho, 524 
Pindar, the Poet, 206 
Pindus, Mount, of Thessaly, 23, 526 
Pirene, fountain, near Corinth, 392 
Piromis, 166 

Pirus, a river of Achaia, 70 
Pisa, atown of Elis, 107 
Pisistratus, son of Nestor, 379 
: , son of Hippocrates, tyrant 



INDEX. 



761 



of Athens, 24—27 ; 423, 452, his 

ancestry, 378 
Pisistratids, sons of Pisistratus, 377, 
, 448 : see Hippias 
Pistyrus, a town of Thrace, 520 
Pitana, an jEolian town, 71 
Pitane, a town of Laconia, 214, 681 
Pittacus, of Mitylene, 11 
Pixodarus, son of Mausolns, 406 
Placia, a Pelasgian town of the Hel- 
lespont, 24 
Plataea, Platasans, surrender them- 
selves to the Athenians, 454 ; pre- 
sent at Marathon, 455 ; in the fleet 
at Artemisium, 582 ; but not at 
Salamis, 600, Platsea burned, 602, 
battle at, 680—696 
Platea, an island off the coast of 

Libya, 328, 331, 336 
Pleistarchus, son of Leonidas, 656 
Pleistorus, divinity of the Thracians, 

713 
Plinthine, gulph of, 108 
Plynns, a lake of Libya, 336 
Pceciles, father of Membliares, 327 
Pogon, a port of the Trcezenians, 599 
Poliades, father of Amompharetus, 681 
Polichnitian Cretans, 550 
Pollux, see Tyndarides 
Polyas, of Anticyra, 590 
Polybus, ancestor of Adrastus, 380 
Polycrates, tyrant of Samos, his for- 
tunes, and friendship with Amasis, 
207 — 209: conduct to revolters, 
210, 214 ; death from Oroetes, 246— 
249 
Polycritus, of iEgina, 621 
Polydectes, king of Sparta, 642 
Polydorus, son of Alcamenes, 565 

, grandfather of Lai'us, 376 

Polymnestus, father of Battus, 328, 

330 
Polynices, father of Thersander, 326, 

430, 666 
Pontus, see Euxine 
Porata, a river of Scythia, 287 
Porian marble, 377 
Porthmea, Cimmerian, 273 
Posideum, a town of Cilicia, 236 
Posidonians, 79 
Posidonius, a Spartan, 689, 696 
Potidaea, a city of Pallene, 524, be- 
sieged by Artabazus, 639, 640 
Praesian Cretans, 550 
Prasias, a lake of Thrace, 355 
Praxilaus, father of Xenagoras, 708 
Praxinus, a Trcezenian captain, 555 
Prexaspes, a Persian prince, 203, de- 
stroys Smerdis, 218 ; confesses his 
guilt and dies, 226 

, son of Aspathines, 514 

Priam, king of Troy, 2, 3, 153, 496 
Priene, a town of Caria, 6, 69, 76, 

411 
Prinetades, son of Demarmenus, 368 
Procles, son of Aristodemus, 326, 431, 

612 
, tyrant ofEpidaurus, 211 



Proconnesus, an island of the Propon- 
tis, 273,423 

Prodigies, carefully noted bv the 
Egyptians, 137; at Sardis, 35; at 
Pedasus, 83; in the host, of Sena- 
cherib, 165, in Egypt, 190 ; at Ba- 
bylon, 263 ; at Thera, 328 ; at Chios, 
420; to Xerxes, 493; 502; at Del- 
phi, 597 ; in Attica, 608 ; to Per- 
diccas, 645 ; to Artayctes, 713 

Prometheus, see Asia, 286 

Pronasan Minerva, 44, 597 

Propontis, its measurement, 502 

Proserpine, feast of, 608, see Ceres 

Prosopitis, an island of the Nile, 122, 
178 

Protesilaus, a hero, 490, 712, 713 

Proteus, king of Egypt, 149 

Protothyes, a Scythian, 50 

Prytanes, Naucrarian, 381 

Pry tanis, king of Sparta, 642 

Prytaneum, at Athens, 70, 470 : of the 
Achasans, 562 

Psammenitus, king of Egypt, 190 — 
193 

Psammis, king of Egypt, 175 

Psammitichus, king of Egypt, 50, 104, 
171—174 

, father of Inarus, 475 

Psyllians, a Libyan people, 337 

Psyttalea, an island near Salamis, 614, 
623 

Pteria, a town of Cappadocia, 34 

Ptous, Apollo, 644 

Pylas, see Thermopylae 

Pylagors, Amphictyons, 569, see note 

Pylians, Cauconian, 71, 379 

Pylus, a town of Laconia, 549 

, a town of Elis, 671 

Pyramids, of Memphis, 107, of Che- 
ops, 157, 158 ; of Chephren, 159 ; of 
Mycerinus, 161, 162; of the Laby- 
rinth, 168 

Pyrene, a town near the Ister, 118 

Pyretos, a river of Scythia, 287 

Pyrgus, a town of the Minyans, 327 

Pythagoras, the sage, 137, 305 

Pytheas, a valiant iEginetan, 556, 622, 
693 

Pythennus, a Phocaean, 72 

Pythian, Pythoness, Priestess of 
Apollo, see Oracles, and Delphi ; 
corrupted by the Alcmasonids, 377, 
390 ; by Cleomenes, 436 

Pythius, an opulent Lydian, 488,493 

Pythogenes, a Scythian, 419 

Red Sea, 107, 174, 282, 283 
Ehadinacc, a kind of oil, 460 
Rhampsinitus, king of Egypt, 153 — 

156 
Rhegium, a town of Italy, 79, 550 
Rhe.nasa, an Island near Delos ,45 
Rhodope, Mount of Thrace, 288, 635 
Rhodopis, a courtezan, 161 
Rhodes, 83, 183, 541 
Rhcecus, an architect, 216 
Rhodium, a town of Troas, 496 



762 



INDEX. 



Rbype, a town of Aohaia, 70 

Sabacon, king of Egypt, 163, 164, 
171 

Sabyllus,ofGela,54l 

Saces, a people of Asia, 73, 236; in the 
army ofXerx.es, 505 

Sacrifices, see religious rites of the 
Egyptians, Scythians, Thracians, 
Libyans, Persians : pile of Croesus, 
20 ; of Periander, 395 : of the Spar- 
tans, 432 : of the Greeks, 529, 662, 
see Amilcar, Hegesistratus, Tisa- 
menus 

Sadyattes, king of Lydia, 7 

Sagartian Persians, 61, 236, 510 

Sais, a city of Egypt, 115, 129, 177 

Saitic mouth of the Nile, 111 

Sala, a town of Samothracia, 503 

Salamis, 548; refuge of the Athenians, 
604, victory there over the Persians, 
617—624 

Salamis, a city of Cyprus, 334, 401 

Salmydessus, a town of Thrace, 304 

Salt, pillars of, in Libya, 340, houses 
of, 341 

Samofhracians, 127,429, 520 

Samos, Samians, Ionians, 69, tribe, 
199; public works, 216; temple of 
Juno, 168: their piracies, 31, 210: 
application to the Lacedaemonians, 
210 : see Polycrates, Syloson, and 
Ionians ; occupation of Zancla, 418 : 
application to the Greeks, 698: dis- 
armed by the Persians, 703 

Samyris, or Amyris,463 

San, a Doric letter, 67 

Sana, a town of Mount Athos, 486, 
524 

Sanacbarib, king of Assyria, 164 

Sandanis, a Lydian, 31 

Sandoces, a Persian judge, 561 

Sappho, the poetess, 162 

Saranges, a people of Asia, 236, 244, 
505 

Sardanapallus, king of Nineveh, 170 

Sardis, captured by the Cimmerians, 
7 ; see Alyattes, Croesus, &c. Cap- 
tured by Cyrus, 38, burned by the 
Ionians and Athenians, 399 : see 
Pactyas, Xerxes 

Sardinia, 80, 402, 408, 547 

Sardonian linen, 146 

sea, 79 

Sarpedon and Minos, 82 

Sarpedon, promontory, 502 

Sarta, a town of Mount Athos, 524 

Saspires, a people of Asia, 50, 237, 
282, 509 

Sataspes, a noble Persian, 284 

Satres a people of Thrace, 520 

Satrapies, of Darius, 92, 234—244 

Sattagydes, a people of Asia, 236 

Saulins, king of Scythia, 298 

Sauromates, a Soythian people, 276, 
311, 312 

Scaeus, a pugilist, 376 

Soamander, a river of Troas, 379, 496 



Scaraandronymns, father of Charaxus, 

162 
Scapte-Hyle, a place in Thrace, 428 
Schoene, a measure used in Egypt, 106 
Sciathos, an island near Artemisium, 

555,556,585 
Scidrus, a town of the Sybarites, 417 
Sciona, a town of Pallen6, 524 
Sciras, Minerva, 623 
Scironian road at the Isthmus, 612 
Scitus, servant of Democedes, 252 
Scius, or Cius, a river of Scytbia, 288 
Scolus, a town of Boeotia, 658 
Scolopoei's, a river near Mycale,702 
Scolotes, Scythians, 270 
Scopades, Thessalians, 464 
Scopasis, king of the Scythians, 314, 

318 
Sculptures', Egyptian, 106, see Pyra- 
mids, Colossal, and Statues, 
Scylace, a Pelasgian town, 24 
Scylas, king of the Scythians, 298 
Scylax, a voyager, 285 

, a Mindian captain, 364 

Scyllias, a diver, 585 
Scyrmiadian Thracians, 305 
Scythes, son of Hercules, 272 
Scythia, , Scythians ; the country and its 
rivers;described, 277, 286—290; the 
people, their origin, manners, super- 
stitions, and different tribes, 268 — 
282, 291—301 ; Ultra-Scythian na- 
tions, 307^313. Invasion of Scy- 
tbia by Darius, 301, 313—325 ; their 
invasion of Media, 6, 50 ; subdued 
by Sesostris, 145 : conference with 
the Spartans, .443 : Amyrgian Scy- 
thians, 505 : allusion of Artabanus, 
478 
Scythes, of Zanela, 419 

, of Coos, 546 

Sebennys, a district of Egypt, 178 
Sebennytic, mouth of the Nile, 111 
Seldomus, father of Pigres, 514 
Selinus, a town of Sicily, 370 
Selybria, a town of the Chersonese, 

422 
Semiramis, queen of Babylon, 87 
Sepia, a town of Argolis, 441 
Sepias, a shore of Magnesia, 557, 558, 

560, 562 
Sepulchres of the Egyptians, 162 ; of 
the Scythians, 318; see Alyattes, 
Nitocris, Mycerinus, Athamas, La- 
byrinth 
Serbonis, a lake of Egypt, 106, 188 
Seriphos, an island of the iEgaean sea, 

601 
Sermyla, a Greek town of Sithonia, 

524 
Serpents, at Sardis, 35 ; saored, of 
Egypt, winged, 135; winged, of 
Arabia, 241 ; of Libya, 341, 344 : 
of Scythia, 310 ; guardian ef the 
Acropolis, 599 
Serrheum, promontory of Thrace, 503 
Servants, not known early in Greece, 
468: Scythian slaves, 268, 296 ; of 



INDEX. 



763 



Argos, 443 ; privilege in Egypt, 

149 
Sesame, a species of grain, 93 
Sesostris, king of Egypt, 145, 146 
Sestus, a city of the Chersonese, 324, 

490, Til 
Setbon, king of Egypt, 164 
Sicania, Sicily, 550 
Sicas, father of Cyberniscus, 514 
Sicinnus, bondman of Themistocles, 

614, 632 
Sicyon, a state of Peloponnesus, 380, 

448, 667, see Clisthenes 
Sidon, Sidonians, 151, 255, 515, 526 
Sigeam, a town on the Scamander, 379, 

396 
Sigynnes, a people beyond the Ister, 

352 
Silenus, Marsyas, 488, 646 
Sillicyprian tree, 141 
Silphium, a plant, 337, 344 
Simonides, the poet, 400, 576 
Sindians, a people of the Cimmerian 

Bosphorus, 279, 302 
Sindus, a town of Mygdonia, 525 
Singus, a town of Sithonia, 524 
Sinope, a town of the Euxine, 34, 118, 

273 
Siphnos, one of the Cyclades, 215, 601 
Siris, a town of Italy, 463 

, a town of Paeonia, 607 

Siromitres, a Persian general, 506, 

509 
Siromus, a Tyrian, 514 

, a Cyprian, 401 

Sisamnes, a Persian general, 505 

, father of.Otanes, 360 

Sisimaces, a Persian general, 407 
Sitalces, king of Thrace, 300, 531 
Sithonia, a region of Thrace, 524 
Siuph, a city of Egypt, 180 
Smerdis, son of Cyras, 201, 219 
Smerdis, the Mage, 217— 229 
Smerdomenes, son of Otanes, 509, 524 
Sraila, a town of Pallene, 524 
Smindyrides, a Sybarite, 463 
Smyrna, 7, 71 

Sogdians, a people of Asia, 237, 505 
Soli, a town of Cyprus, 405 
Soloeis, western promontory of Libya, 

117, 284 
Solon, the Athenian legislator, 12 — 

15; 183,405 
Solymians, Milyans, 82 
Sopbanes, of Decelea, 448, 690 
Sosicles, a Corinthian, 391 — 395 
Sosimenes, father of Panaetius, 617 
Sostratus, of ^Egina, 329 
Spaco, see Cyno 

Spargapises, son of Tomyris, 102 
Spargapithes, king of the Agathyrsians, 

298 
Sparta, see Lacedasmon 
Spartans distinguished from Lacedae- 
monians, 578 
Sperchius, a river of Thessaly, 563, 

576 
Sperthies and Bulis, 529 



Sphendale, a town of Attica, 658 
Stade, a measure, see notes and, 169 
Stagirus, a town of Macedonia, 522 
Stations, Persian, 373 
Statues, see Jupiter, Neptune, Vulcan, 

Venus, Damia, on the poop of a 

ship, 637 : at Olympia, 551 : of sum- 
mer and winter, 153 : wooden, 160 : 

of Darius, 234 : of Alexander, 637 
Stentoris, a lake of Thrace, 503 
Stenyclerus, a town of Messenia, 

686 
Stesagoras, father of Cimon, 423,452 
Stesenor, tyrant of Curium, 405 
Stesilaus, son of Thrasylaus, 458 
Strattis, tyrant of the Chians, 323, 

643 
Struchates, a people of Media, 49 
Stryme, a town of Briantica, 520 
Strymon, a river of Macedonia, 27, 

354,358,487,521,635 
Strymonian wind, 636 
Strymonians, 508 
Stymphalis lake, 441 
Styrax, Storax, a gum, 241 
Styreans, of Dryopea, 454, 582, 601, 

667 
Styx, a river of Arcadia, 440 
S nnium, sonthern promontory of Attica, 

308, 446, 458 
Susa, residence of the Persian kings, 

(Shushan) 90, 301, 372; city of 

Memnon, 374, 540 
Syagrus, a Spartan, 541 — 544 
Sybaris, a city of Italy, 369, 417, 463 
Syene, a city in Upper Egypt, 115 
Syennesis, king of the Cilicians, 33, 

406 
, a general in the army of 

Xerxes, 514 
Syle, plain in Thrace, 522 
Syloson, brother of Polycrates, 207, 

value of his cloak, 257 — 262 
Syme, sea of, 83 
Syracuse, 542, see Gelon 
Syrgis, a river of Scythia, 316 
Syria, Syrians, 3, 32, 34, 109, 146, 151, 

188, 236, 283, see Palestine, 507, 

511 
Syrtis, region and gulph of, 117, 170 

Tabalus, governor of Sardis, 73 
Tahiti, Scythian vesta, 291 
Tachompso, an island of the Nile, 

116 
Taenarus, a place in Laconia, 9, 549 
Talaus, father of Adrastus, 380 
Talent, Babylonian and Eubcean, 235 
Talthybius, a hero honoured at Sparta, 

529 
Tamynae, a town of Eubcea, 451 
Tanagra, a town of Boeotia, 375, 385, 

658, 676 
Tanai's, a river of Scythia, 276, 286, 

308, 316 
Tanitis, a district in Egypt, 178 
Tarentum, a city of Italy, 9, 256, 308, 

550 



764 



INDEX. 



Targitaus, ancestor of tlie Scythians, 

270 
Tarichea, a city of Egypt, 143 ; (con- 
servatories) 110 
Tartessus, a city of Iberia, 77, 329, 

344 
. Tauchira, a town of the Barcasans, 

337 
Tanrica, (the Crimea,) Taurians, 269, 

276, 308, 309 
Taxacis, king of Scythia, 315 
Taygetus, Mount, of'Laconia, 326 
Teams, a river of Thrace, 304 
Teaspes, father of Sataspes, 284, 509, 

691 
Tegea, a town of Arcadia, Tegeans, 27, 
439, 453, 551 ; at Thermopylae, 564 ; . 
dispute with the Athenians, 664; at 
Plataea, 688 
Teios, a town of Ionia, 79, 411 
Telamon, a hero, 607 
Teleboes, a people of iEtolia, 376 
Telecles, a Samian, 208 
Teleclus, son of Archelaus, 565 
Telesarchus, a Sarnian, 259 
Telines, ancestor of Gelon, 541 
Telliads diviners, 672 
Tellias, a diviner, 593 
Tellus, an Athenian, 12 

, a Scythian goddess, 291, (the 

Earth) 
Telmessus, a town of Caria, 35 
Teios, an island off Triopium, 541 
Telys, tyrant of Sybaris, 369 
Temenas, ancestor of the Macedonian 

kings, 645 
Temnos, an JEolian island, 71 
Tempe, vale of Thessaly, 552 
Temples, see Jupiter, Babylon, Thebes, 
of Egypt, Amphiaraus, Apollo, Bac- 
chus, Ceres, Cybele, Delphi, Di- 
ana, Hercules, the Tyrian, Latona, 
Minerva, Protesilaus, 'Venus, Vul- 
can ; not used by the Persians, 64, 
or Scythians, 291 
Tenedos, an iEolian island, 72, 422 
Tenos, an island near Delos, 280, 449, 

617 
Teos, a town of Lydia, 69, 79, 183 
Teras, a Thracian, 300, 531 
Terillus, tyrant of Hiinera, 547 
Termera, a town of Caria, 366 
Termiles, Cretans, 82, 513 
Tethronium, a town of Phocis, 595 
Tetramnestus, a Sidonian, 514 
Teucrians, Trojans, 485 ; Gergithe, 
408, 496 ; Paeonian, 354 ; Maxyes, 
343 
Teuthrania, a part of Mvsia, 108 
Thales, of Miletus, 33, 80 
Themanaeans, a people of Asia, 236, 

244 
Thamasius, father of Sandoces, 56 ! 
Thamimasidas, Scythian Neptune, 291 
Thannyras, a Libyan, 194 
Thasos, an island of the iEgean sea, 

124, 420, 427, 429, 522 
Theasides, a Spartan, 444 



Thebes, of Egypt, 86, 105, 111, 122, 

127, 190 
, Thebans, of Boeotia, see Am- 
phiaraus, 22, war with Athens, 385 ; 
dispute with the Plataeans, 455 ; at 
Thermopylae, 564; render their ser- 
Tices to the Barbarian, 577, 669, 
674, 687 ; besieged by the Greeks, 
696—697 
Thebe, daughter of Asopus, 385 
Theban, plain, in Asia, 496 
Themiscyra, a towu on the Thermodon, 

302 
Themison, of Thera, 329 
Themistocles, son of Neocles, 535: 
interpretation of the Delphic oracle, 
535 : general of the Athenians at 
Tempe, 552 ; bribed by the Euboeans, 
584: attempts the Ionians, 589: 
conduct among the allies, 601 — 607 ; 
stratagem practised,on the Persians, 
613 ; interview with Aristides, 616 : 
conduct at Salamis, 621 ; his advice 
and address, 630, 632 ; honoured at 
Sparta, 638 
Theogony, 128 

Theocydes, father of Dicasus, 608 
Theodorus, a Samian engineer, 21, 208 
Theomestor, son of Androdamus, 618, 

699 
Theophanian festival, 21 
Theopompus, king of Sparta, 642 
Thera, an island of the iEgaean sea, 

326—330 
Theras, a Cadmaean, 326 
Therambas, a town of Pallen6, 524 
Therapne, a town ofi Laconia, 435 
Tberma, a town of Mygdonia, 524, 

525,555,550,640 
Thermodon, a river of Cappadocia, 
146, 302, 666 

, a river of Boeotia, 311, 

675 
Thermopylae, or Pylae, 564, described, 

553 ; 557, battle there, 573—581 
Theron, king of Agrigentum, 547 
Thersander, son of Polynices, 326, 430 

, of Orchomenus, 659 

Theseus, 690 

Thesmophoria, festival of Ceres, 179, 

416 
Thespia, a town of Boeotia, Thespians, 
385, 564, 573, 575, 602, 614, fight at 
Platasa, 668 
Thesprotia, a country of Epirus, 395, 

554, 601 
Thessaly, described, 526,527 ; cavalry, 
562: Thessalians, compelled to at- 
tach themselves to the Barbarian, 
551 — 553 : see Aleuads ; animosity 
towards the Phocians, 554, 593 : 
lead the Barbarians into Greece, 
595, 653 : conduct at Plataea, 669 
Thessalus, companion of Dorieus, 370 
Thesta, a fountain in Libya, 332 
Thetis, 560 

Thmuitis, a district of Egypt, 178 
Thoas, king of Lemnos, 469 



INDEX. 



765 



Thonis, an Egyptian governor, 149 
Thoracles, Egyptian, 184, 310, worn by 

the Persians, 66, 663 
Thorax, of Larissa, 652, 683 
Thoricum, a place in Attica, 308 
Thornax, Mount of Laconia, 31 
Thrace, Thracians, 80 ; progress of 

Darius, 303, 307: see Getes ; Zal- 

moxis ; nations of Thrace, 350 — 

353 ; progress of Xerxes, 518 — 524 ; ' 

in the fleet, 557 ; annoy his retreat, 

635, 698 ; subdued by Sesostris, 145 
Thracians, of Asia, Thynians and Bi- 

thynians, 11, 235, see 508 
Thrasybulus, tyrant of Miletus, 8, 

394 
Thrasycles, father of Lampon, 698 
Thrasydeius, son of Aleuas, 683 
Thrasylaus, father of Stesilaus, 458 
Thriasian plain, in Attica, 608, 655 
Thyia, daughter of Cephissus, 555 
Thynians, a people of Asia, 11 
Thyrea, a town of Argolis, 441 
Thyssagetes, a people of Europe, 276, 

316 
Thyssus, a town of Mount Athos, 487 
Tiaras, turbans of the Persians, 191, 

371, 504, 637 
Tiarantus, a river of Seythia, 287 
Tibarenians, a people of Asia, 237, 

508 
Tibisis, a river of Seythia, 288 
Tigranes, general of the Medes, 504, 

702, 705 
Tigris, 90, 374, 417 
Tilones, a kind of fish, 356 
Timagenides, a Theban, 673, 696 
Timagoras, father of Timonax, 514 
Timander, father of Asopidorus, 688 
Timareta, priestess at Dodona, 128 
Tiraesifueus, of Delphi, 382 
Timesius, of Clazomenae, 80 
Timnas, a Scythian, 298 
Timo, priestess at Paros, 467 
Timon, of Delphi, 533 
Timonax, son of Timagoras, 514 
Timoxenus, general of the Scionians, 

640 
Tiryns, Tirynthia, in Arsrolis, 441,443, 

531, 667 
Tisamenus, a diviner, 670 

— , a Spartan, 326, 430 

Tisander, father of Isagoras, 379 

, father of Hippoclides, 464 

Tisias, father of Lysagoras, 466 

Titacus, of Aphidna, 690 

Tithaeus, son of Dates, 511 

Tithorea, summit of Parnassus, 595 

Titormus, of ^Etolia, 463 

Tmolus, Mount, near Sardis, 39, 44, 

399 
Tomyris, queen of the Massagetes, 98, 

103 
Torone, a town of Sithonia, 486, 524 
Trachea of the Scythian Chersonese, 

308 
Trachis, a town of the Malians, 563, 

564 



Trachinia, 595 ; Trachinians,553 

Trade, of Phoenicians, 1 ; comp. 376 ; 
241, 242, 189 : exportation of corn, 
275, 537 : trading journeys of the 
Scythians, 277 : tin and amber, 243 : 
voyages of the Phocaeans, 77 ; comp. 
329 ; commerce of the Carthage- 
nians, 345 : course of caravans 
through Central Africa, 340 : com- 
merce of the Greeks in Egypt, 257, 
183, 172 : 146 : commerce on the 
Euphrates, 94 

Tragedy, 417 

Trapezius, a town of Arcadia, 463 

Traspian Scythians, 270 

Trausians of Thrace, 351 

Travus, a river of Thrace, 520 

Triballian plain, 288 

Tribes, see Sicyon, Athens, Libya, 
Seythia 

Triopium, Promontory, 70, 83, 283 

Tripod of Crossus, 44 ; of Jason, 339 : 
in the temple of Apollo, at Thebes, 
376 ; at Delphi, 617 ; 694 

Tritasa, a town of Achaia, 70 

Tritantaechmes, a Persian general, 509, 
524, 593 

— — f governor of Baby- 
lonia, 93 

Triteae, a town of Phocis, 595 

Triton, a river of Libya, 338, 343 

— , a divinity, 338, 339 

Trcezen, a town of Argolis, 515, 599, 
667 

Troglodyte ^Ethiopians, 341 

Troy, Trojans, 2. Ilium, Troas, 108, 
Trojan war, 149— 153; 343; 354: 
see Teucrians, 408 ; 550 

Trophouius, oracle of, 19, 643 

Tycta, Persian feast, 709 

Tydeus, son-in-law of Adrastus, 380 

Tymnes, father of Histiaeus, 366,514 

Tyndarus, 149 

Tyndarides, Argonauts, 326, 383, 690 

Typhon, 173, 188 

Tyranny, a precarious possession, 213; 
described, 229, 230; and 39W395 ; 
abolished in Ionia, 427 

Tyras, a river of Seythia, 273, 287, 
288 

Tyrodiza, a town of Thrace, 488 

Tyrrhenia, Etruria, 45, 77, 78, 79 

Tyrrhenian Thracians, 23 

Tyre, Tyrians, Temple of Hercules, 
124 ; in Egypt, 148 ; in the service 
of the Persians, see Satrapies, and 
the accounts of the Ionian revolt, 
and invasion of Greece, see Phoe- 
nicians ; second to Sidon,610 

Veiia, Hyela, a town of the Phocasaus, 

Venetians, see Enetians 

Venus, see Mylitta, Mitra, Urania, 

Artimposa : of Egypt, 149, 122 ; 

at Ascalon, 50 ; Apbrodita, 294 
Vesta, Tahiti of the Scythians, 291, 

31S 



/ 



766 



INDEX. 



Victims, see Sacrifices and Divination 
Umbrians, of Italy, 46, 288 
Urania, Venus, 189 ; 291 
Urotal, Bacchus, 189 
Utians, a people of Asia, 506 
Vulcan, the Egyptian, 144, 153, 168, 

182, 206 ; priests of, 165, 105, 143 : 

the Grecian, 625. 

Xantippus, father of Pericles, 465, 

467, 490, 642, 711 
Xanthus, a town of Lycia, 84 
Xenagoras, of Halicarnassus, 708 
Xerxes, son of Darius, contention be- 
tween the royal brothers for the 
throne, 472; his accession, 473; 
influenced by Mardonius to invade 
Greece, 473 — and dissuaded by 
Artabanus, 478 — 485 : his foolish 
ambition, 487; interview with Py- 
thius, 489 ; advance towards Greece, 
through Asia, 488—490: folly at 
the Hellespont, 491 : order of march, 
495 ; progress to Abydos, 496 ; 
conversation with Artabanus, 496* — 
500 : passage of the bridges, 501 ; 
muster and costumes of the army, 
503 — 511, comp. with the account of 



the Satrapies of Darius : muster of 
the fleet, 511 — 515 : conversation 
with Demaratus, 515 — 518 : advance 
through Thrace, Macedonia, and 
Thessaly, 518, to Thermopylae ; num- 
bers of the host and attendants, 557 : 
conduct at Thermopylae, 567, 569, 
573, 578—580; 592: takes Athens, 
602: holds a council, 609—611: 
conduct at Salamis, 619 — 624 : his 
alarms and retreat, 624—635, 637 : 
message to the Athenians, 647 ; bis 
pavilion, 695; intrigue at Sardis, 
708, and treatment of Masistes, 708 
—711 
Xuthus, father of Ton, 513 

Zacynthus, an island of the Ionian sea, 

216, 344, 438 
Zalmoxis, divinity of the Getes, 305 
Zancla, a town of Sicily, 418, 547, 542 
Zaueces, a Libyan people, 344 
Zeuxidamus, son of Leotychides, 438 
Zona, a town of Samothracia, 503 
Zopyrus, a Persian prince, 263 — 267 ; 

284 

: , grandson of Zopyrus, 267 

Zoster, promontory of Attica, 630 







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